THE North-East's sick and dying ex-miners fear badly-needed compensation payments may be held up if the NHS is hit by a winter crisis.

A lack of consultants qualified to carry out medical assessments is already holding up payments for hundreds of former pitmen suffering from lung diseases.

Now those involved with the claims process are bracing themselves for an expected surge in flu cases.

This would place added pressure on NHS consultants already employed to assess claims and slow the process further.

Alan Cummins, a former member of the NUM national executive and lodge secretary at Easington Colliery, County Durham, said: "This is a hell of a dangerous time of year for people with serious chest diseases.

"There are already very few specialist chest consultants in this area, who will be fully employed on their own rounds and lost to the system if there is a flu outbreak.

"The oldest and most seriously incapacitated are not being medically examined quickly enough."

Nationally 8,000 medical assessments have taken place, although a relatively small number of these have been carried out in the North-East.

North-East solicitor Roger Maddocks, a member of the national steering group committee overseeing the claims process, said: "We are particularly concerned at the low number of medical assessments for living claimants in the North-East."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Trade and Industry said it had come to an agreement with the NHS and the Department of Health. This would increase the amount of time chest consultants were able to spend dealing with miners' medical assessments.

She said: "They will be exempt from any time limitations and we are also looking at increasing the pay involved to attract more consultants."