HEALTH commissioners will continue ‘monitoring’ East Lancashire’s hospitals after a second major report made wide-ranging criticisms of the way they have been run.

Former Burnley MP Peter Pike and patient champion Russ McLean have called for resignations, but East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group, which funds the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General, said it will continue working with the hospitals’ current leadership.

It said in a statement yesterday: “We are closely monitoring the trust's progress in implementing the agreed action plan and have put in place a range of mechanisms and checks to ensure that improvements are being delivered and quality of patient care is placed at the centre of all services.

“At present we are meeting on a fortnightly basis with the trust’s senior leadership to ensure that improvements are delivered. This work will continue as long as required until we receive the assurance required to ensure quality of care for patients in East Lancashire.”