AN extra investment has been made by NHS chiefs in East Lancashire to guard against crucial eye test images going missing.

Bosses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) had highlighted concerns with imaging equipment, used by the ophthalmology department at Burnley General Hospital.

Trust directors heard it was taking seven minutes to store just one image - and the scans were being stored on a machine's hard drive as there was no server.

In a board report, it was stated: "There is the potential loss of images/information if the machines breaks down as there is no back-up for the equipment."

The board heard some images were lost during the last NHS cyber-attack and there had been difficulties with a previous machine.

But now trust chiefs have confirmed fresh technology will cover the gap, which resolve the issue. The trust is currently constructing a state-of-the-art ophthalmology unit at Burnley.

An ELHT spokesman said: "As the trust invests in more efficient and complex ophthalmology scanning equipment, this increases the requirement to store larger and more detailed images on our IT equipment.

"Whilst all images are backed up on individual computers, in order to ensure no images are lost the trust has invested over £200,000 in new storage infrastructure.

"The equipment has been received and the technology – which will further reduce the risk of lost images - is currently being deployed and will be complete within the next few weeks."