PATIENTS were today warned that cash-strapped health chiefs could be forced to "ration" a series of operations to save money.

And a health watchdog leader has predicted that the squeeze on NHS cash which has afflicted Britain over the past 15 years is poised to hit the district for the first time.

Eileen Scott, chairman of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Community Health Council, expressed concern about the staggering rise in the cost of sending patients out of East Lancashire for treatment.

Last year's budget for extra-contractual referrals was overspent by £882,000 and East Lancashire Health Authority only has a £2.2m budget this year.

The authority has set up a working group to target out-of-town treatment which could be "rationed" or reduced to cut the ECR bill. This includes in-patient referrals for sub-fertility treatment, gender reassignment and drug and alcohol detoxification. But the CHC wants patients to have a say in which types of surgery is targeted.

Mrs Scott said: "This is what we may call rationing. The squeeze in NHS money which has been going on for about 15 years has got to the stage where it will bite into this area, which it has not done so far."

The CHC is to write to the health authority to try to become involved in the discussions.

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