HEALTH chiefs at Burnley General Hospital met Government waiting list targets thanks to a late push to bring down numbers.

A report to Burnley Health Care NHS Trust said 4,894 people were on the list at the end of last month. The Government said there had to be fewer than 4,899.

Trust finance director David Meakin told yesterday's board meeting: "We've achieved the target but with a lot of effort in doing so.

"We ended up doing a lot of cases in the last two or three months of the last year and now we are faced with a more difficult case mix on the waiting list. It is going to be more difficult to achieve the target in the coming year."

Trust chairman Brian Foster added: "We're starting as early as possible to look at all the options so we are not faced with a mad rush at the end of the year.

"I would like to record our appreciation of the effort being made by staff."

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