PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice is to question plans to move blue light Accident and Emergency Care from Burnley General to Blackburn's Queens Park Hospital for patients with life-threatening conditions .

Mr Prentice is due to meet East Lancashire Hospital bosses tomorrow.

The MP will meet the Chief Executive of Burnley Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust and senior officials.

The East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust last week embarked on a 16 week public consultation setting out two options for re-shaping the area's health services.

The Trust says it wants to separate planned admissions for procedures such as hip replacements from serious accidents and emergencies.

They say the present system results in cancelled operations as doctors are called away to handle emergencies.

Mr Prentice said: "The Hospital Trust tells us that it is spending beyond its means and that it has got to stay within its budget.

"We all know about the problems with financial management in the past, but are these new proposals being driven by a race to get the bottom line to balance as quickly as possible rather than the result of a cool clinical assessment of what is best for the patient?

"There is a strong gravitational pull towards Blackburn with NHS services being sucked into the area. That may be OK for those living around the new hospital hub but what about those on the periphery? Public transport between parts of Pendle and Blackburn can be difficult to say the least and ambulance times are going to be longer, than a journey to Burnley General."

He added: "There are many good things being proposed but the core question has to be answered.

"Will the loss of a fully fledged accident and emergency department at Burnley General put the lives of my constituents at greater risk?"