HEALTH bosses have defended controversial proposed changes to the region's burns service.

Under the proposals, children with life-threatening burns who require specialist treatment would no longer be treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle.

Instead, they would have to be transferred to burns centres as far away as Manchester and Birmingham.

While health bosses have stressed the idea is only a proposal at this stage - and does not affect adult services - it has been strongly criticised by North-East MPs and a health watchdog.

Shirley Alexander, vice-chairwoman of the Newcastle Hospitals Patient and Public Involvement Forum, has called for a campaign to block the proposed changes.

A spokeswoman for the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority (SHA) said the national review of burn care services "is very much a work in progress" and no decision had been taken.

The idea is to split burns care treatment into three levels, according to severity.

At the lowest level, some hospital units would be designated as a burns facility, treating minor burns.

Patients with intermediate burns, the vast majority of burns cases, would be treated at a burns unit.

However, under the proposals, patients with very severe, potentially life-threatening burns, would be seen at new specialised burns centres.

Equipped with critical care beds and specialist doctors who only deal with burns care, the centres would accommodate staff who are experienced in treating burns.

Adult and children's burns centres would operate across four regional networks - the North, Midlands, South-East and South-West.

Other hospitals in these regional networks would have burns facilities to treat less critical cases.

The spokeswoman said: "To ensure a high quality service, centres need to be seeing about 50 patients a year for paediatric critical cases and 50 adult critical cases." The number of critical paediatric cases seen at Newcastle averages 12 a year.