BURY's health watchdogs have drawn up a list of priorities for health care in the town.

And the Community Health Council (CHC) is urging health chiefs to "get back to basics" when devising an action plan to take them into the new financial year.

CHC chief executive, Mr Paul Reynolds, said: "If people in Bury are to receive a good service from the NHS, the Bury and Rochdale Health Authority has to radically re-think its priorities and concentrate on improving core services."

The CHC wants priority funding for the Accident and Emergency Department at Bury General Hospital, which it says is in urgent need of investment. It believes steps should be taken to boost levels of medical and nursing staff, as well as improving the physical environment.

The council is also calling for funds to be set aside for the recruitment of four new anaesthetists in Bury General's Intensive Care Unit, and for staffing levels in Fairfield General Hospital's mental illness services to be improved.

The Health Authority will be asked to set up a working party to look at services for the elderly, and draw up a development plan to secure future funding.

Community Health Council chief officer, Mr Paul Reynolds, said: "When services are in a mess, - and in Bury, despite the best efforts of the staff, they are - we simply have to get back to basics. We have a duty to concentrate resources on those services that people rely on for their lives and well being."

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