A HOSPITAL consultant in Bury has threatened to resign if his demands for Government action to end a cash crisis in the borough's health service are not met.

Dr Anton Sinniah said he would not only leave Bury, but quit altogether.

The consultant chest physician has written to Health Secretary Alan Milburn, urging him to intervene before there is "a detrimental effect on health care delivery" in the borough.

The letter follows action by Dr Sinniah and his colleagues in March when they broke their professional silence to apologise to the people of Bury for "failing" them.

Dr Sinniah said: "I had hoped that by breaking our professional silence in March something would have been done. But nothing has changed and we are still back where we were when we first spoke out.

"The situation is so desperate that I feel that I have no choice but to go straight to the top."

According to Dr Sinniah, Bury Health Care NHS Trust has been receiving "well below" average funding for the last 10 years.

A meeting with senior management and clinical directors was called last month to discuss the financial situation.

Potential

The doctor, who has been working for the Trust since August 1999, added: "If things do not improve I cannot see myself working for the NHS. I will leave medicine altogether.

"However, I would like to continue to work for the Bury Trust because it has so much potential. The staff are outstanding in what they do and the conditions they have to work in.

"If we could get the funding, Bury's hospitals would provide a first-class leading service."