SERVICES for the disabled in the borough have undergone a huge transformation with a massive reduction in waiting times.

Bury Council say urgent cases are getting almost immediate staff attention with other people having to wait only a few weeks for help.

The transformation has been secured by the local authority's disability services team. Figures show that the waiting list for help, both in terms of the numbers waiting and the length of the wait, has been slashed.

New figures from the Government's performance indicators list also show that 75 per cent of deliveries of equipment are undertaken in less than seven working days.

The service, which helps people with physical disability or visual or hearing loss, provides a range of help including information on equipment services and assisting people to get in and out of home.

While there has never been a waiting list in urgent cases, the waiting list for others two years ago was 13 months and as recently as nine months ago there were 600 people waiting for around 11 months. Now, there are just 85 non-urgent cases on the list with a wait of up to only six weeks.

And, although it is rare for authorities to meet the Government's target for getting equipment to every customer within three weeks, Bury does so in 92 per cent of cases.

Councillor Mike Connolly, executive member for health and social services, said: "This is an incredible improvement in a service which provides in some cases, and almost uniquely, cradle-to-grave assistance for some of the borough's most vulnerable citizens.

"The support the team gives promotes independence, helps prevent falls and hospital admissions and in doing so is also contributing to the success of the borough's work on getting one of the lowest bed blocking figures in the country."

Coun Connolly said the improvement had also to be set against a rise in the number of referrals to the team, up from 5,432 to 5,931 a year, over two years.

Lynda Hughes, disability services manager, said staff had put in extra hours to bring the waiting list under control.

She added: "These figures are a tribute to a dedicated and hard-working team."

To cement the success, the council and Bury Primary Care Trust is working together with a view to integrating services to reduce duplication and improve efficiency.