CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a walk-in centre to be saved from closure have held a protest outside a hospital.

Residents who use the service were joined by councillors at Accrington Victoria Community Hospital's GP centre today, which is due to close on March 31 this year.

Dozens of protesters held up placards reading 'Save our services at Accrington Victoria Hospital'.

They said the closure of the facility would have a 'detrimental effect' and put more pressure on the A&E department at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and the Minor Injuries Unit at Accrington Victoria.

Kimberley Whitehead, organiser of the protest by the group called 'SAVE Accrington Walk-in centre', said: "Online and paper petitions which we set up only a week ago have attracted 10,000 signatures so we've had a great response and lots of support.

"The walk-in centre is a community service and people are very passionate about the hospital which has been here for over 100 years and paid for by the people here in the community.

"People who can't get a GP appointment tend to come here as a last resort , and you'll find a percentage of these will end up going to A&E in Blackburn if the walk-in centre closes."

"This closure would have a detrimental effect on the community and for people in wider East Lancashire."

The walk-in centre had 44,000 patients in 2016 and the closure of the facility, originally earmarked for closure in October 2015, has been postponed five times.

It will be replaced by a new 'GP Extended Access Service' which was launched in December 2017.

But East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said it is committed to ensuring that patients have access to 'services which meet their needs.'

They said the service would aim to make more appointments available for Hyndburn residents and to ensure that there is routine access to a GP seven days a week.

A spokesman for East Lancashire CCG said: "This service is available via peoples own GP.

"We are actively working with the providers of both the Extended Access Service and the Walk-in-Centre to ensure a smooth and timely transition from one model to the next.

Further details will be made available to patients over the coming weeks.

“The contract for the Accrington Walk-In Centre ends on March 31, 2018.

"We will however, keep people updated on the progress of this.”