Consultation on single central Lancashire A&E unit delayed

Formal consultation will not take place until spring 2019 at the earliest

A public consultation into a proposal for a single A&E unit to cover Central Lancashire has been postponed.

Under draft NHS proposals, Chorley and Preston hospitals would share one emergency department and elective surgery be concentrated at the other.

Formal consultation was due in January but the debate has been delayed until "spring 2019 at the earliest", Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said.

Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the town stands "united" against the plans.

The "timeline for consultation has now slipped back", Dr Geraldine Skailes, medical director at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals (LTH), told a meeting of the Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board.

• Latest news and stories from the North West

Informal engagement events planned for this week will still go ahead, the Local Democracy Reporter Service was told.

But the meeting heard proposed changes will have to pay close attention to purdah - the period in the run-up to elections when public bodies are limited in making major policy announcements which could be politically controversial.

The temporary closure of Chorley's A&E in 2016 prompted protests

The consultation is therefore unlikely to begin until after next May's local elections.

'Wrong decisions'

The plans for reorganisation of services across Preston, Chorley and South Ribble called "Our Health, Our Care" do not specify where the A&E department would be.

Campaigners from Protect Chorley Hospital Against Cuts And Privatisation believe the Chorley site would lose its current unit.

More time is needed to undertake the "rigorous processes" which have to be completed beforehand, a spokesman for Our Health Our Care said.

Sir Lindsay said he believed the decision "has already been made" and only implementation is left to be decided but hopes people will give their views at the engagement events.

"Chorley and South Ribble people will stand united to oppose these plans."

Chorley Council is due to debate a motion on Wednesday over whether the authority will support the now-delayed consultation process.