NHS chiefs have insisted that a regional review of specialised services in Lancashire will improve standards of care.

As revealed by the Lancashire Telegraph last month, NHS England is currently reviewing seven services provided by the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals, including the flagship Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

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About 10, 000 people have joined the LT’s Save Our Services campaign to keep the treatments in the area.

The services, which also include pancreatic cancer and severe asthma care, are delivered as part of a £25 million specialist care budget and their removal would have serious implications for the hospitals’ future success.

It could also force patients to travel to neighbouring hospitals in Manchester or Preston for these treatments.

NHS England’s recent five-year plan said there is a strong clinical case for centralising some specialist treatments right across the NHS, with senior doctors clustered at fewer hospitals, because maintaining standards at a large number of sites is considered unaffordable.

The other services said to be at risk are HIV, complex vascular surgery, hepatobiliary (liver) and pancreatic care and complex disability services.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “We are confident that once this work is completed, patients across East Lancashire will receive services that more consistently meet their requirements and needs, with each delivering the highest possible standards of treatment and care.

“In identifying the priorities for action in a number of specialised services, key issues facing the Lancashire population will be considered.....The aim is to bring improvements to each service and ensure they meet the new national service specifications and clinical guidelines expected.”