HEALTH chiefs have defended a move to send NHS patients to the private sector after East Lancashire bosses warned it could damage hospital services.

North West and London bosses who made the decision to have residents treated by private firms with NHS cash said patients and hospitals would benefit.

They spoke out after the Lancashire Tele-graph revealed local managers were concerned about the plans.

An internal report for bosses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust warned it could take patients - and therefore money - away from existing hospitals in the area.

This could see services close at the cash-strapped Trust.

Rob Bellingham, the Trust's director of IT, information and planning said: "We believe that the proposals as they stand may well present risks to the sustainability of some hospital services."

The deal was brokered by NHS North West, which oversees all NHS healthcare in the region.

A statement from the authority said the it was needed as "the length of time people are waiting is not coming down fast enough".

A spokesman for the Department of Health - which is driving the scheme - said the project "should not undermine existing infrastructure or clinical services".

It would instead put the Trust in a "win-win" situation as it could concentrate on more complex work which gets it more money.