LEIGH MP Andy Burnham has welcomed an hospital choice booster for local patients.
He is delighted that from July patients waiting for six months or more will have the chance to opt for treatment in public or private facilities elsewhere in the country.
Mr Burnham, a member of the Commons Health Select Committee, urged health secretary Alan Milburn to ensure that patients from the Leigh area would be included in the new Greater Manchester choice programme.
He also pressed the government to develop capacity for new generation diagnostic and treatment in the west of the county so that Leigh patients could be treated closer to home.
Step forward
He said: "The announcement marks an important step forward for the health service in Greater Manchester. It establishes the vital principle of patient choice and I hope signals the end of the NHS like-it-or-lump-it culture.
"It will be welcomed by people who believe in the NHS but want to see it change with the times."
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