Tell people what they should do

9:28am Tuesday 1st April 2008

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The argument over whether staff at the former A and E department at Burnley General Hospital, now called the Urgent Care Centre, should be able to administer a potentially life-saving treatment called thrombolysis highlights the dilemma facing people in the town.

Directors of East Lancashire Primary Care Trust want urgent talks with the hospitals trust over their refusal to allow the procedure to be carried out there.

The hospital trust appears to have taken the decision because it believes people who are ill enough to need thrombolysis should be on their way to the Royal Blackburn Hospital's A and E department.

And it could either be given there or by paramedics in ambulances en route to the A and E.

While Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle describes the decision as "outrageous" the town's MP Kitty Ussher said the treatment is for people who have had "a very serious heart attack" and they should be dialling 999 and not heading for Burnley General.

The problem is if people "in the know" disagree then how are ordinary folk supposed to be able to assess what they should be doing if they are suddenly taken ill?

We need a high profile campaign to educate people about when to go to Burnley General's "Urgent Care Centre" and when to dial 999.

The decision could be the difference between life and death.