A REDEVELOPED Leigh Infirmary has a vital role to play in local health care.

Wigan and Leigh Health Services NHS Trust have laid out development suggestions which highlight Leigh's importance in the health service structure.

A leaked Trust document clearly states Leigh Infirmary's value.

"The Trust depends on the income gained from patients using Leigh and would have great difficulty in surviving without that income.

"It is proposed to redevelop Leigh to provide not only inpatient care for sub acute medical patients and mentally ill patients, but also to develop as full a range as possible of outpatients and day surgery and investigation facilities," the document states.

The Trust says Wigan Infirmary is extremely crowded and needs to be used primarily for emergency care.

"If we are to have space to develop intensive care, cardiac catheterisation, vascular services and a cancer unit, we must transfer services from Wigan."

At Leigh they highlighted inadequate outpatient accommodation, a cramped cardiology unit with no privacy and insufficient physiotherapy space.

But the old accident and emergency corridor and theatre area are now rarely used and the Trust feels there is sufficient on site space at Leigh to consider building additional accommodation for expansion or new services.

Expansion could perhaps cater for renal dialysis so locals needn't travel to Salford or Manchester.

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