THE government has given its backing to the merger of East Lancashire's two NHS trusts.

Health minister Jacqui Smith has approved the proposal to merge Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust and Burnley NHS Trust from April 1 next year.

It will mean one NHS Trust, to be called the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, will be responsible for Blackburn Royal Infirmary, Burnley General Hospital, Pendle Community Hospital, Queen's Park Hospital and Rossendale Hospital.

The decision was taken at Whitehall after a 12-week period of public consultation.

The next step towards the merger will be the appointment of a new trust board which will run the newly-created trust

It will begin operating in a shadow capacity on September 1 before taking control of the hospitals next April.

Around 6,500 people will be employed by the new trust, which will have an annual budget of £210million.

The merger should save around £500,000 in administrative costs every year, which will be reinvested in patient care.

There will be no change to the clinical service each hospital provides.

John Thomas, project director and chairman of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, said: "The main reason for merging the two NHS Trusts is to encourage and support the further integration of clinical services across East Lancashire where this will lead to improved patient care.

"The two NHS trusts have worked together to develop integrated services in areas such as ophthalmology, ENT and cancer services.

"I am sure that by removing the organisational boundaries between the two trusts, even more can be achieved to ensure that hospital services in East Lancashire continue to develop and flourish for the benefit of the people using them."

Azhar Ali, chairman of the merger project and leader of Pendle Council, said: "I am very pleased that the proposed merger has been approved.

"I am grateful for the support which has been given locally by both individuals and organisations to the merger.

"I am confident that the creation of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust will improve services to patients, increase career opportunities for staff and make the best and most effective use of financial resources."