BED-RIDDEN hospital patients have been forced to bang sticks to get nurses' attention on an emergency ward because alarm buzzers were installed out of reach, it has been claimed.

Bosses today admitted there was a "design fault" in the high dependency unit at the new Royal Blackburn Hospital in Haslingden Road .

But they said they had received no reports of patients having to bang for attention and there were enough nurses to see people straight away.

The unit is the next step down from intensive care.

A relative of one patient told the Lancashire Telegraph: "She had to bang a wooden stick to get attention because she couldn't reach the buzzer.

"That went on for two weeks."

The buzzer is placed on monitoring equipment at chest height next to beds - making it too high for patients to reach. Rana Din, matron for critical care, said: "There are design problems with the system which does not allow easy reach for the patient."

He said East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was working with the private consortium which built the hospital "to introduce an improved nurse call system as a matter of high priority".

Yet he said patients would not be left alone and unable to call for help as a nurse would always be close by.

He added: "The unit has a camera system which allows monitoring of patients from the nurses' station and glass partitions between side wards give high visibility. "

Critics have reacted with disbelief to the news, which comes three months after the £113million hospital opened.

Mollie Manthorpe, chair-man of the Patient and Public Involvement Forum, which oversees the trust, said: "I can't believe it. It is important they get it sorted out and don't make excuses. High dependency patients should have a buzzer whether nurses are around or not."

Coun Tony Humphrys, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Council's health scrutiny committee, said: "This is ludicrous. It is a £113million hospital.

"You would expect things to be in place and properly designed."