PUBLIC concern prompted health chiefs to look at keeping intensive care beds at both East Lancashire's hospitals, it was revealed today .

Bosses said the principle of keeping "some specilalities" at Burnley and Blackburn would be looked at by doctors who, until now, have ruled out keeping intensive care at both sites.

Fears were rife that intensive care beds, crucial in providing back-up for serious A&E patients, would be moved from Burnley General to Blackburn's Queen's Park Hospital under two out of four options put forward by health chiefs.

A health boss today said doctors who drew up the controversial options, in August, did not "consider, or suggest" keeping beds at both sites.

Val Bertenshaw, leading the review of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "I don't think it has had a proper clinical, or economic, evaluation."

She said it was "blindingly obvious" the new option needed to be looked at after the public outcry over the plans. However, she added: "I think there is an element of people who perhaps don't always appreciate the clinical reasons for some things that happen in health care."

Final options will go out to public consultation in January, and be posted to homes in East Lancashire. Tim Ellis, spokesman for union Unison, which has launched a high- profile campaign against the plans, said: "It looks like a major U-turn which is testament to the campaign."

Mr Ellis said 10,000 signatures have been collected opposing the moving of intensive care beds.

And he said it would be "outrageous" if the new option differed little from the controversial proposals once it had been discussed by doctors.

The options discussed until now are: do nothing, build a new general hospital in East Lancashire, move intensive care beds from one site, and move intensive care and high dependency beds from one site.