A ROW erupted today between health service groups over a £7million shortfall in funding for Blackburn and Darwen.

The missing cash will threaten efforts to hire more badly needed GPs, dentists and therapists to help cut year-long waiting lists for services, it was claimed.

Dr Alistair Murdoch, chairman of the area's Primary Care Group, said without the money they would also "not be able to improve our heart disease services... in an area which has one of the worst rates of coronary heart disease in the country."

Nigel Robinson, of patient watchdog body the Community Health Council, said existing GPs and dentists were becoming overloaded. He said: "As our older GPs retire it becomes more difficult to replace them because it's not seen as an attractive area -- a lot of people still

think it's all grime and mill chimneys."

There are now only six NHS dentists in the area, and two of those do not accept all patients.

More than 1,700 patients are on an 11-month waiting list for routine physiotherapy and there's a 16 month wait for speech therapy. Adults wait up to 11 months for occupational therapy while children wait up to 13 months.

"We need to have therapists where the patients are, in society, not in hospitals. The more services can be brought out into the community, the better it is for people," said Mr Robinson.

"Our centres were spacious when they were built but Larkhill and Montague health centres are literally bursting at the seams." According to Government figures, the Blackburn and Darwen area, which covers 161,000 people, needs £112million for 2000/01 to pay for GPs, health centres and hospital treatment.

But East Lancashire Health Authority, which is responsible for sharing out the cash, has only allocated Blackburn with Darwen primary care group £105million.

Dr Murdoch, a GP at Shadsworth Surgery, Blackburn said: "We are very disappointed at their decision. I'm determined that this inequality must be corrected."

He said Blackburn with Darwen had been underfunded for many years, as had all other East Lancashire areas.

The latest allocations mean Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale and the Ribble Valley are now all receiving their target amount or more, and funding for Hyndburn is also moving closer to its target, said Dr Murdoch.

Ray Beale-Pratt, financial manager of the PCG, said the 9.4 per cent increase they had received had been absorbed by inflation and increasing drug costs: "We understand that the authority has a difficult balancing act but this year it hasn't helped us. We are stagnating."

Chris Dixon, financial manager of the health authority, said they were trying to find more cash for Blackburn with Darwen. They recently awarded the area extra Government cash from an access to services grant -- Blackburn with Darwen got about £200,000 compared to about £80,000 for the other primary care groups.

Kath Reade, chairman of the health authority, said the authority had acted within rules and resources.

She said: "We understand that Blackburn with Darwen PCG want the best possible resources for their population but attacking the health authority in the press does not help.

"I suggest that we meet to air these frustrations and consider if anything else can be done to help."

Dr Murdoch has written to the NHS Executive about the issue and a spokeswoman said they were looking into the matter.