HOSPITAL staff in East Lancashire were walking tall today after a five-star performance in the National NHS League Tables.

Waiting list figures at hospitals in Burnley and Blackburn were hailed a success despite a flurry of emergency admissions during the winter.

The influx of medical cases were expected to affect the figures but health workers were praised for beating the odds.

Lancashire Ambulance staff were also cock-a-hoop after the statistics showed they had some of the best response times in the country.

Crews reacted to more than 98 per cent of emergency calls within 19 minutes, well above the national average of 96 per cent. Crews also reached 73.6 per cent of 999 calls within eight minutes, the second highest rural service in the UK.

David Hill, chief executive of Lancashire Ambulance NHS Trust, said: "This is a tremendous achievement. Getting help to patients in the first eight minutes has been clinically proven to give patients the best chance of making a full recovery."

Figures published for the first time showed that in the past three years 70 per cent of women in East Lancashire had been screened for breast cancer, three per cent higher than the national average. About 85 per cent have undergone smear tests to detect cervical cancer in the past five years, two per cent above the average.

Other new figures showed that 89 per cent of East Lancashire children received the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccination, two per cent below the national average, while the take-up for the diphtheria jab was one per cent above the average at 96 per cent. The Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust achieved five-star ratings in 28 of the categories and had an average star rating of 4.1. No patient had to wait more than a year for an operation and 99 per cent were seen in the outpatients department within 26 weeks. During the year there was a significant increase in the number of inguinal hernia repairs.

Only one patient who had an operation cancelled was not readmitted within a month, well below the national average of 11.

Ninety-five per cent of patients were assessed within five minutes of arriving at casualty in Blackburn, two per cent above the average.

The average star rating for the Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust was 3.6 and they topped the national average in 70 per cent of the categories.

Eighty-five per cent of patients were assessed within five minutes of arriving at casualty, well below the 93 per cent average.

Seven patients were not readmitted within a month of having their operation cancelled, while 79 per cent were seen within 13 weeks of being referred by their GP.

The CommuniCare NHS trust achieved five-star rankings in the two categories for which it was eligible.

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