PATIENTS have voiced concerns about the closure of Burnley General Hospital’s fracture clinic.

Russ McLean, chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group, Burnley MP Julie Cooper and the town’s former MP Gordon Birtwistle have all received complaints from patients about the service now available to them.

Following the unit’s closure in August, the Royal Blackburn Hospital now deals with all patients with broken bones from across East Lancashire. That policy will be reviewed after six months.

Mr Mclean said: “I have had 10 written complaints from patients as well as many more anecdotally.

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“The winter months are approaching and breaks and fractures are incredible at this time.

“People with fractures need to been seen in a specific time frame and having to travel from Pendle or Burnley is going to be difficult for people of a certain age.”

Former Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said: “I have had many people contact me about problems at the clinic and it’s terrible.

“One woman told me that she had the worst experience of her life when she had to travel all the way from Burnley to use the clinic in Blackburn.”

In August the fracture clinic at Burnley was relocated to Blackburn so that all patients with an orthopaedic injury or fracture could be seen in a consultant-led fracture clinic within 72 hours of first presenting with the injury.

Previously, people in Burnley were waiting two weeks for appointments.

When the clinic moved to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, Dr Damian Riley, East Lancashire Hospital’s Trust medical director, said: “We are fully committed to providing safe, personal and effective care for all our patients.

“We will measure the effectiveness of this change over the next six months and the results will determine our next step.”

MP Julie Cooper launched a petition in August before the fracture clinic moved and has since raised concerns patients from her constituency have been forced to stand in the waiting room at RBH.

She said: “I am concerned about the removal of the fracture clinic.

“I believe this is flawed thinking and completely false economy.

“Any savings made by closure of the unit must be weighed against the huge increase in patient transport costs as most fractures require several months of follow-up hospital appointments.”

However, Mrs Cooper has been slammed by former MP Gordon Birtwistle, who she defeated in May’s general election, who has said that she left the clinic go back to Blackburn ‘without a whimper’.

“The new MP has let the clinic go back to Blackburn easily and has undone all of the good work that I put in when I was MP to get the clinic installed in this town .”

Russ McLean said: “I am also told there was no patient consultation when the services moved leaving many with a lack of transport to Blackburn. This is, again, increasing costs for patients.”

Dr Mike Ions, CCG chief clinical officer has written to East Lancashire Hospitals Trust but is awaiting a response.