HEALTH chiefs today hit back at reports that dozens of casualty departments in the North West could face the axe.
The Audit Commission suggested in its report on accident and emergency services that health authorities should consider closing some smaller units to create larger, better equipped ones.
But the North West Regional Health Authority today stressed that no hit list of hospitals had been drawn up.
The Audit Commission had suggested that departments serving less than 50,000 patients and within 10 miles of another A&E department could be reviewed. A list of hospitals in the category - including the Royal Preston, Chorley and Airedale - was obtained by the Press Association from the Commission.
"However, the Commission did not recommend closing A&E departments with fewer than 50,000 people, Neither do they have a hit list of hospitals scheduled for closure," said a spokesman for the NWRHA.
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