CHORLEY and South Ribble health chiefs have blasted new targets accompanying a cash boost for South Lancashire.

Dr Roy Evison, chair of Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Health Group, revealed that members wanted to use some of the £16.7m injection for South Lancashire to develop local priorities.

But when the initial allocation was announced in January, concern was immediately expressed that while the extra resources were welcome, the targets that accompanied them weren't.

And the timetable by which funding had to be agreed made it impossible to consult doctors and nurses in the primary care group about how to spend it, so projects such as the development of 24-hour district nursing have not been earmarked for funds.

Dr Evison said: "Members of the board and their colleagues find it frustrating that because of the financial situation in South Lancashire and the strings attached to any additional funding, they have not really been able to influence the use of the extra money to the extent they would have liked."