ANYTHING which helps patients feel better and brightens the hospitals where they are being treated must be seen as a positive move.

But news that East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust wants to spend £1million on public art has quite rightly raised concern.

Officials are looking for sponsorship and grants to cover the cost of the scheme, which bosses believe will aid patients' recovery. And the money will not come from cash allocated for patient care.

But some critics today have said officials would be better off working to cover a £4million debt which threatens to impact on services. The cynicism has not been helped by news that the first piece of art which has been commissioned is not going on a ward, where patients need something to take their minds off their illnesses.

Instead, the £25,000 piece of art will be hung in the reception of the new £100million Queens Park Hospital extension -- where officials and VIP visitors rather than patients are more likely to notice it.

And how much time and effort will be taken up searching for this money?

MPs are right to demand value for money and a degree of restraint over what is, after all, a distraction from the main function of our hospitals.

In the words of Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans: "You don't stop to see a nice statue when you're being rushed into A&E."