A COUNCIL leader is to stage a protest over cuts to services at Burnley General Hospital.

Councillor Gordon Birtwistle is urging as many supporters of the campaign to stop cuts to the hospital to join him on a 12-hour protest outside the hospital next week.

Coun Birtwistle is planning to display anti-hospital cuts posters and banners at Burnley General next week and is appealing for residents and supporters will join him for whatever time they can spare, be it 10 minutes of half an hour.

He urged as many people as possible to attend the protest at some point throughout the 12 hours so that hospital managers can see the strength of feeling against cuts at the hospital.

Coun Birtwistle said: "We are hoping for members of the public be it for 10 minutes or half and hour "Part of the accident and emergency department is closing from November 1 so it will no longer be able to deal with serious traumas, the children's ward looks set to go, urology has gone and so has major surgery; it is slowly being run down.

"It is being made into a smaller hospital, but 250,000 people use it, it serves people in Pendle and Rossendale; it's a lot of people.

"They want to send patients to Blackburn, but at the moment Blackburn can't cope so what are they going to do when more of Burnley closes?

"We want Burnley hospital maintaining and expanding, we want investment in it.

"They say they have no money, but they have got plenty of money to go and fight wars in Iraq - it should be spent on the hospitals."

Coun Birtwistle, who will be joined by fellow Liberal Democrat councillors throughout the day, will be standing outside the hospital, in Casterton Avenue, from 8am, next Wednesday to 8pm.

A hospital spokesman said: "Burnley General is a hospital with a future - the 24/7 urgent care centre will continue to see and treat around 9 out of 10 people who currently attend Burnley's A&E. "We are also developing the hospital into a UK Centre of Excellence for planned surgery, women's healthcare and intensive care for newborn babies.

"While inpatient children's care will be at Blackburn, there will continue to be day case and outpatients paediatrics at Burnley, along with a daytime children's assessment and observation unit.

"These changes will mean the 500,000 people in East Lancashire will receive even better access to first-class healthcare."