PATIENTS in North Yorkshire have been given "important protection" by a Government minister against damaging health cuts - according to York's MP.

Hugh Bayley raised the issue of the huge debt facing North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) in Parliament.

Speaking to health minister Ivan Lewis, he asked: "Will the minister reassure the House that the rights of patients in North Yorkshire will be protected, despite the PCT's deficit, and that they will retain access to the same range of NHS treatments, and experience the same waiting times, as NHS patients from other parts of Yorkshire and the Humber?"

The minister said as difficult decisions were made to ensure the PCT balanced its books, it was important that patients continued to enjoy access to high quality services.

"However, it sometimes might be more appropriate to provide those services in the community, so this might be an opportunity to make some of the changes that frankly should have been made anyway, irrespective of the financial pressures that the organisation faces," he said.

"Of course, the interests and needs of patients must remain at centre stage, and the trust must maintain the national standards that are set down on the quality of patient care."

The PCT is facing a debt of £45 million and has introduced a range of short-term measures it hopes will reduce that figure by £10 million.

These include suspending a wide range of procedures such as IVF unless a woman is nearing 40, joint injections, vasectomies and treatment for bunions and ganglions.

Mr Bayley said the minister's statement in Parliament gave "important protection" for patients.

He said he had asked the region's strategic health authority, the PCT and York hospital to agree a set of indicators, such as waiting times, that could be checked every quarter to see that patients in the county were getting the same access to treatment as those elsewhere.

The new PCT would be getting an increase of £77 million in its funding next year, he said.

A PCT spokesman said: "The PCT has had a number of productive meetings with Mr Bayley and other MPs in recent weeks to ensure they are briefed about our financial situation and implications for their constituents.

"We are very happy to provide any additional information he requires.

"While the action we are taking will increase the times patients are waiting for both outpatient and inpatient appointments at local hospitals, we have made a commitment that patients will still be seen within the waiting time targets set by the Department of Health."