A HEALTH supremo today spoke of his fear that moves to allow pubs to open for 36 hours during the Millennium weekend could result in wards being filled with people injured in drink-fuelled incidents.

Ian Woolley, chairman of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, has voiced his concern that hospitals could be put under severe pressure.

His comments came after it was revealed that health trust managers in East Lancashire will have to find more than £330,000 to fund a one-off ex-gratia payment to staff who work over the millennium period.

Mr Woolley said hospital workers would have to hope that partygoers behaved sensibly during the end-of-year celebrations, which will allow pubs to open between 11am on Millennium Eve and 11pm on January 1.

He said: "We hope that people will celebrate sensibly and we will not be inundated with emergency work.

"It is a matter of some concern that licensing arrangements have been relaxed on drinking. We have to hope and encourage people to act with a degree of common sense.

"Unfortunately, drinking too much can cause serious disturbances."

Geoff Sutcliffe, secretary of Blackburn Licensed Victuallers' Association, said: "I can understand the concern, but people have only got so much money and the majority of people are sensible anyway.

"At the moment, the general consensus among licensees is that they will not be opening the full 36 hours. It is just not viable." The Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust is still finalising its staffing arrangements for the Millennium period, but has estimated it will cost £134,000 to pay all staff an ex-gratia payment for working between 7pm on Millennium Eve and 1pm on January 1.

The cash will be the equivalent of their basic hourly rate for each hour of duty and will come on top of their contracted pay and money for Bank Holiday. For example, a nurse earning £6 a hour who works an eight-hour shift will receive an ex-gratia payment of £48, in addition to contracted and Bank Holiday pay.

The same applies to staff working for Burnley Health Care NHS Trust, although it has not yet fixed when the 18-hour Millennium period will fall. The Trust's finance director, David Meakin, estimated that the ex-gratia payment and Bank Holiday rates will cost between £200,000 and £250,000.

The Blackburn-based trust has also deemed that all staff who work on January 1 will be entitled to Bank Holiday payments - even though it is not a designated national Bank Holiday.

The trust will have to foot the bill itself unless it receives additional winter pressure cash from the Government. Mr Woolley said: "The Government has been realistic about funding for the NHS and I hope it is again with regard winter pressures."

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