THOUSANDS of sick and dying miners who are pursuing compensation claims for illnesses caused by coal dust could be spared the anguish of having to wait for a medical.

The Department of Trade and Industry has confirmed that it is to set up a pilot scheme for claimants later this year, based purely on medical records.

Such a scheme, if introduced nationally, would substantially speed up the compensation process for pitmen who have contracted lung diseases.

Just this week, at a public meeting organised by The Northern Echo, miners' leaders warned that up to 15,000 claimants in the North-East could face a six-year wait before they even receive medicals.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the DTI attempted to play down the significance of the pilot scheme.

She said: "This is very much in the preliminary stages and is just one of a number of options that we are looking at."

Only 51 so-called Medical Assessment Procedures (MAPs) have been carried out at test centres in Newcastle and Durham since the start of the year.

They are conducted by qualified respiratory consultants, of which there are only about 200 across the country.

David Guy, president of the County Durham NUM, said: "We have argued all along that there is sufficient medical evidence for the DTI to turn this into a paper-based exercise.

"On average, there are 200 people a month dying who have submitted claims, and the whole process needs to be speeded up."

Miners submitting compensation claims typically undergo a so-called spirometry test to check their lung capacity before an initial interim offer of compensation from IRISC, the claims handlers appointed by British Coal.

Those who decline the offer then have to undergo the Medical Assessment Procedure before a final offer can be made.

Sunderland solicitor Nigel Thompson, who is representing claimants in the North-East, said: "The high court judge overseeing the claims process has expressed concern about the lack of cases that have gone through the medical assessment procedure.

"If things carry on the way they are it could be ten years before all the claims are settled.

"I would hope there is some will to make sure this does not take any longer than is necessary, but that requires an effort on behalf of all the parties concerned."

More than 110,000 compensation claims for the estimated £1.5bn made available by the Government have been made by miners and their families - but only one has been paid out in full.

The number of claims nationally are expected to rise to 150,000 before the deadline for applications next March.

Meanwhile the DTI has hailed this week's miners meeting, held in Seaham on Monday, as a "major breakthrough".

It has promised to contact individually those miners and their families who spoke to officials in an attempt to shed light on their claims

A spokeswoman said: "It was one of the first times that we had all the key people together on one table.

"It was a really constructive meeting and we are very glad that we came."

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