HEALTH bosses have joined the call for York and Selby to be linked if county residents vote "Yes" in the regional assembly referendum.

Jeremy Clough, chief executive of Selby and York Primary Care Trust, said a Selby and York unitary authority would be good for patient care.

He said it would cut back on bureaucracy, as 80 per cent of Selby patients needing a hospital appointment went to York Hospital.

Mr Clough said: "We are not making any comment on a regional assembly, we are not making a political point, we are saying there would be benefits to health services from linking York and Selby.

"An example is delayed transfers (bed blocking). Recent arrangements on delayed transfers between the primary care trust, City of York Council and York Hospital do not cover all patients, because some are from North Yorkshire.

"We are able to have a single set of discussions about the patients from Selby and York, but need a separate discussion for those from North Yorkshire."

But Sue Galloway, City of York Council's executive member for social services, disputed Mr Clough's claims.

She said many Selby patients look to West Yorkshire for their care.

Coun Galloway said she did not believe linking Selby and York would ease the bed blocking situation, as patients from Easingwold would still be treated at York Hospital.

Coun Galloway said: "Easingwold would still be in North Yorkshire, so discussions would still have to be held with the county council."

Selby district council leader Mark Crane said the primary care trust had misread the situation.

Coun Crane has previously said he accepted York's arguments as to why it did not want to link with Selby.

He has backed the boundary committee proposal to join the district with the East Riding unitary authority.

"The East Riding is a large geographical area with many similarities to Selby," Coun Crane added.

Meanwhile, county councillor John Vause has claimed there was a "growing coalition" of supporters who want to see Selby merged with York.

Coun Vause, campaigning for the merger, said the coalition included parish councils, public bodies and business leaders.

Updated: 09:34 Thursday, February 05, 2004