THE financial crisis facing East Lancashire's hospitals is becoming increasingly worrying.

Last April the trust which runs the region's hospitals, revealed it had debts of £3.9million at the end of its first financial year.

A plan was announced to make savings at Burnley General, Rossendale General, Pendle Community and the two Blackburn hospitals to put the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust back on track.

But by October we were told the deficit had risen to £5.5million.

Now we hear that up to 70 jobs are set to be axed from the hospitals as part of a shake-up which could lead to the removal of about 120 beds.

When we are only a year away from the scheduled opening of a new £100million super Queen's Park Hospital these cuts do not inspire confidence in the way our health services are being run.

The Trust's acting chief executive says he is confident patient care will not be compromised and refers to "temporary bed reductions."

But Patients' Forum chairman Mollie Manthorpe says: "We are worried that once these beds and jobs go they will never come back."

Her fears are echoed by people all over East Lancashire who have been led to believe our health services were about to expand rather than contract and now need some reassurance.