Give it a rest!

That's the plea to noisy prison officers when they accompany sick inmates to Chorley Hospital for treatment.

For they claim that the warders are regularly keeping other patients awake by banging chairs, talking all night and rattling their chains.

Now, following complaints, a call has gone out for improved medical facilities at local jails so the inmates can be treated there instead.

One 80-year-old -- who asked not to be named -- told The Citizen that on one hospital stay he was asked by other patients to be a spokesman for the whole ward, because nobody was able to get any rest!

The man -- who suffers from chronic emphysema -- said: "I was in Adlington Ward when they brought this prisoner in chained to two warders.

"When night time came the warders sat either side of him still chained to him, but to keep awake they talked all night.

"They moved the chairs along the floor and the chains were clanking."

When he complained to the ward sister she arranged for the prisoner to be moved into a side ward.

That was in 1998, but he continued: "Two or three months ago I was taken into Astley Ward.

"I had only been in two or three days when they put a prisoner in the next bed. Once again he was chained to officers."

The pensioner complained and this time the prisoner was moved to the end of the ward in a bid to keep things quieter.

He stressed he does not object to prisoners being treated in hospital, nor the fact that they must be accompanied.

"I don't mind the bloke being there," he said, "it's the officer talking all night and being noisy which I object to!" He discussed the matter with borough councillor Ralph Snape, who has been approached by another former patient with the same concern.

Councillor Snape suggests that prison hospital units could be upgraded to allow them to deal with more prison patients, rather than send them to hospitals outside.

He added: "I have spoken to our MP about it.

"If we are talking about any upgrading we are talking about central government money."

Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle confirmed he was taking the issue up with prison chiefs.

"We are going to write to the Home Office to see what plans there are, to see if more prisoners can be treated within the prison hospitals," he said.

He added that this would ease the pressure on Chorley Hospital.

Gary Roberts, assistant nursing director for Chorley Hospital, said: "We acknowledge how important patient rest is.

"We do try our absolute best to keep noise down to a minimum and we take this issue very seriously."

He said sometimes prison patients' needs mean they have to be treated at a large hospital.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Obviously staff have to be with prisoners for the security of the public, but I am sure that if anyone raised the issue the prison would be very apologetic and would endeavour to make clear to staff that they do need to bear in mind that there are other patients in the hospital."