BOLTON hospital bosses have been given the green light to open an intensive care bed which has had to lie empty because of a lack of cash.

The bed will be open at the Royal Bolton Hospital at the end of the month and staff are currently being recruited.

In November, Bolton Hospitals Trust complained that patients were having to be be ferried up to 60 miles away because there was no cash available to open the intensive care bed - one of six at the hospital.

Now, after a review of Bolton's workload, Wigan and Bolton Health Authority has agreed to provide funding.

The news comes just two months after the BEN revealed critically ill patients had been ferried 39 miles to Lancaster and across the Pennines to Leeds - a journey of 57 miles - to the nearest available intensive care bed.

In November a graphic front page picture showed the unused intensive care bed.

Hospital bosses had warned that if extra money was not handed out for an extra IC bed - costing £300,000 a year - they could be forced to transfer 100 patients.

Trust bosses are now also looking for additional cash from the recent £6 million cash boost for intensive care from the Government.

John Brunt, chief executive of Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We shall continue to press the case for further investment in intensive care throughout the whole of the Greater Manchester area.

"The regional office is looking at intensive care across the whole of the region and we anticipate this will recognise the need for more IC beds."

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