HOSPITAL bosses in Burnley have been handed a £3.3million Government cash tonic to slash waiting times and put the health trust on an even financial keel.

And they are also bidding for an extra £750,000 to boost the number of beds on offer for critical patients needing special care.

The money already received -- which will be used to pay for this year's nurses pay rise and employ new consultants and back-up medics -- is Burnley's initial share of a £1.4billion cash boost for better health announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in last month's budget.

And there could be more money on offer as part of the £150million national drive to ensure the UK heads off the kind of crisis witnessed in winter when patients had to be ferried miles in search of intensive care beds.

If successful, the £750,000 Burnley bid would cover the cost of one high-dependency bed and create one more critical care bed, along with the back-up teams to run them. Burnley entered the new financial year this month already facing a £1.3million budget deficit -- with £520,000 of health staff pay awards to be met and extra efficiency savings to be made. The new cash wipes the slate clean, leaving the Burnley Trust in a position to look at service improvements, finance director David Meakin said today.

He said: "It gives me confidence we can achieve a financial balance this year."

Mr Meakin said he was confident the trust could now make a "significant impact" on the list of people waiting for more than the maximum target 13 weeks for an out-patient's appointment, and also on the in-patient operations lists.