AN investigation was called for today after claims that East Lancashire's hospital managers have delayed operations without the knowledge of patients -- making waiting lists look better.

Government figures, published in a national newspaper claim almost 75,000 "hidden" patients have been placed on a "suspended" waiting list meaning they are taken out of the queue for treatment at NHS trusts.

And Burnley Healthcare and Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care have been labelled as among those with the most patients on the "suspended" list in the country.

In a list compiled by the Department of Health 17.5 per cent of Burnley Healthcare Trust's patients were on a "suspended" list -- giving it the sixth highest percentage in the country.

While in Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley 13.7 per cent of patients were on the suspended list -- giving the trust the 18th highest total.

But John Dell, operations manager for Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care Trust, said: "Our list is genuine and we only suspend patients who need to be suspended. Our lists are audited and they are accurate. Patients are only suspended for genuine reasons such as if they are ill, pregnant, on holiday, or require another operation before that particular surgery."

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "I find these figures worrying. Certainly I would want to take them up with the Health Authorities concerned. They are higher than I would expect. East Lancashire NHS managers need to mount an investigation to find out why we have these unusually high numbers of patients suspended from waiting lists."

And Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "These figures are an absolute scandal and they just go to show the depth where this government is prepared to go to force staff in the NHS to push down waiting lists.

"Patients from the Ribble Valley will be astounded to see that all three of their NHS Trusts are in the top 20 for fiddling the figures.

"The message to Mr Blair is that doctors and nurses should be allowed to get on with their jobs of treating patients and not forcing them off waiting lists just so he can meet his facile promise to cut waiting list numbers."

Nationally the "suspended" list puts the total number of people needing surgery well over the million mark.

Doctors and managers are allowed to use the suspended list when there are genuine reasons for a patient not being able to undergo planned surgery.

A patient returns to the queue in the same place they left off when a consultant deems them fit for their operation.

But once on the suspended list the patient effectively disappears from published waiting list figures.