A HOSPITAL boss today revealed that Blackburn Royal Infirmary could shut within 10 years.

The closure would mark the end of an era in local healthcare, but would be the fulfilment of a long-term vision to revolutionise in-patient services in Blackburn.

John Thomas, chief executive of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, has spoken of the "vision" to build a £83 million single-site district general hospital.

All services at the infirmary would transfer to Queen's Park Hospital where a phased development has been taking place since 1984. The final transfer of services from Blackburn Infirmary, which is expected to take place in the year 2006, will include the casualty department, the intensive care unit and the medical assessment department. There will also be more than 1,000 car-parking spaces at the new site.

The timescale for the Queen's Park Hospital plan is:

Phase one - 1986: New paediatric and medicine departments opened.

Phase two - 1992: Completion of medicine and elderly medicine development.

Phase three - 1994: Maternity and gynaecological units open.

Phase four - 1998: New rheumatology and rehabilitation development due to open. Park Lee Hospital will close.

Phase five - Year 2000: New mental health unit due to open.

Phase six - Year 2006: The final rung in the development. A £40 million plan to transfer services from Blackburn Infirmary to Queen's Park Hospital.

A turf-cutting ceremony kicked off the start of the phase four work yesterday, but the final two phases of the development depend on capital funding being secured.

A business case is being put together for phase six and managers are also set to explore the possibility of attracting funding through the Government's Private Finance Initiative.

Health chiefs will have to show they can afford the development whether it is funded privately or through the public purse.

The single site hospital will also include a medical village for staff and medical training centre. Mr Thomas said: "I have been here since 1983 and apart from being the long-term vision of the trust it is also my own personal ambition. The benefits for patients is that all services will be on one site and it will be superb facility for generations to come.

"Currently patients have to be transferred between the two hospitals because after they are assessed all the medical beds are at Queen's Park.

"Another problem with Blackburn Infirmary is that there is no room for expansion. We are running a district general hospital from two sites which is not suitable."

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