TOP Burnley Health Trust consultant Dr Peter Erhardt has warned that a Tory victory in the General Election will destroy the NHS.

He and 58 other health specialists, professors and GPs from all over the country have signed an open letter published in today's Daily Mirror, urging people to vote Labour on Thursday.

The Burnley General-based paediatrician - who represents fellow consultants at meetings of the Trust board - has put his name to a statement declaring the NHS is no longer able to care for the nation's sick.

The letter says waiting lists grow, bureaucracy has snowballed and the sick lie on trolleys. Doctors and nurses despair and accounting comes before care, it adds.

The statement goes on: "The internal market is a cancer eating away at your National Health Service. Left untreated, it will destroy that service."

Dr Erhardt's involvement could embarrass Health Trust bosses in Burnley, who say they are providing a better service than ever for the area.

But they remained tight-lipped today, offering only a "no comment" response.

Dr Erhardt has often expressed concerns over service standards at meetings of Trust directors, which he attends as chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, to reflect the views of fellow consultants.

He was on leave today and not available for comment at his Todmorden home.

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