CHORLEY MP Lindsay Hoyle has called on the Royal College of Surgeons to assess the impact of plans to conduct all emergency surgery at Royal Preston Hospital.

The Labour MP is worried about the effect the proposals would have on the future of the Accident and Emergency department in Chorley.

He said "The Royal College of Surgeons will be able to determine whether the A & E unit at Chorley can continue to provide a full range of services, 24 hours a day, even if emergency surgery is conducted at Preston."

He welcomed the hospital trust's decision to delay the implementation of this proposed move until the Royal College has published its report.

And he went on: "If the Royal College states that they believe this change will have no impact on the A & E operation at Chorley & South Ribble Hospital, then this will give everyone much more confidence that our local hospital services will be safe in the future.

"If the report casts any doubt over the future of services provided at the A & E department, then I would expect the hospital trust to change their plans."

The results of the report will be published shortly.