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Burnley General Hospital

: When the trust puts up different options for consultation it is vital that it also makes clear to the public the number of cases that we are talking about, to inform the engagement that it undertakes with clinicians. My hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) has made a good point in the past about the travel times between Burnley and—potentially—the new hospital in Blackburn. If the trust proposes that any option be preferred or not, it needs to explain the volumes for each kind of case and the implications of that if, for example, there are extra travel times. The trust is doing that against a moving background. For example, our reforms of the ambulance service envisage a future in which more and more emergency care can be administered by ambulance professionals working on the site. That is what ambulance staff want to do and it has been shown to deliver a decline in mortality in many parts of the country. There is a moving background, but it is imperative that the trust sets out not only the volumes of different kinds of cases but the implications for, say, mortality under the different options. I am sure that my answers will have provided my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley with some reassurance, although not complete reassurance, so I stress that decisions have not been made at this stage on the precise options for change. That decision will be made by the independent panel on Friday. The chief executive of the trust has kept hon. Members in touch with the development of some proposals and I expect that to continue. I assure all hon. Members that there can be no faits accomplis, no cabals and no decisions made behind closed doors. The NHS is under statutory obligations in the way it conducts consultations with the public. The trust is clear that it must put out firm options to public consultation following the analysis of pre-consultation options. I am advised that the trust anticipates that the proposed start date for the 12-week period of public consultation will be in March. In conclusion, I encourage hon. Members to stay closely engaged in the debate, if not to lead it. I am sure that there will be a rich discussion over the next 12 weeks in Burnley. I will remain closely involved in monitoring the situation and will be more than happy to meet delegations of my hon. Friend's constituents if she wishes to have me hear their views directly. I look forward to the consultation coming to a successful conclusion and, against the backdrop the record increase in NHS resources, the development of option that immeasurably strengthens NHS services in my hon. Friend's constituency.