RESIDENTS will have their say if plans to close two walk-in centres in Bury are cemented, health bosses have pledged.

It comes amid a fierce row between town-hall chiefs and health bosses over fears Bury Urgent Treatment Centre and Prestwich Walk-in Centre could shut next March to save £800,000.

Bury Council's leader Cllr Rishi Shori has accused doctors of failing to consult the public and of acting without scrutiny.

He also called into question the past conduct of senior doctor Dr Kieran Patel during a heated town-hall debate.

NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) insisted consultation would take place if appropriate and they defended their conflict-of-interest policy.

A "public engagement process" is underway but Cllr Shori claims it does not go far enough.

He called for an emergency debate at the September 14 Full Council meeting after 3,700 people signed a petition against any closures.

During the debate, Cllr Shori said: "Do you not think it is slightly odd that the CCG did not engage or consult (Bury Council) before the proposals went live?

"This is a (public engagement process), not a consultation — there is a legal difference.

"Do you think it's right that a public service funded by public taxpayers doesn't think it has an obligation to consult people?"

He added: "We keep hearing 'the doctors are saying this' but…where is the independent scrutiny of this?

"Read the Sunday Times two years ago. (the CCG's chairman) Dr Patel is also the person, who, without any scrutiny, commissioned £100,000 worth of services to a company that I think his wife owns.

"If you want to put blind faith in what medical professionals are telling you, then that's up to you, but we have every right to scrutinise these proposals."

CCG chief officer Stuart North told the Bury Times that the council had been consulted over the last year.

He added: "If at the end of the public-engagement period there is a proposal that a service is no longer commissioned by the CCG, this would be subject to a public consultation of an appropriate level and duration."

Making reference to Cllr Shori's comments about Dr Patel, he added: "The CCG has a robust conflict-of-interest policy which meets with national guidance.

"All CCG boards have clinical members, and it is therefore inevitable that many of these individuals will have interests outside of their CCG role, whether this is their GP practice being a private business, or involvement in other private entities. Bury is not unique in this respect."