PATIENTS were being warned not to risk their lives during Ramadan this week as health chiefs kicked-off their campaign. In the first event of its kind in the country, health bosses from NHS Tower Hamlets and Barts and the London Trust ran a day of train

PATIENTS were being warned not to risk their lives during Ramadan this week as health chiefs kicked-off their campaign.

In the first event of its kind in the country, health bosses from NHS Tower Hamlets and Barts and the London Trust ran a day of training for Imams and senior scholars yesterday to highlight the dangers of ignoring medical advice during the four-week fast.

They are hoping that the training day at the London Muslim Centre will enable Imams to advise the East End's Muslim community after it emerged some were cancelling hospital appointments and avoiding taking their medication during the month of Ramadan.

Last year the number of appointments attended by patients fell by 20 per cent during the fast at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, the London Chest in Bethnal Green and St Bartholomew's in West Smithfield.

Information booklets are also being distributed throughout the borough.