A CRUCIAL ruling about west Cumbria's maternity services will be made by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt "within weeks".

The decision - which could see consultant-led maternity services removed from Whitehaven - was referred to the Secretary of State by the Cumbria Health Scrutiny Committee earlier this year.

Mr Hunt last month ordered the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) to conduct an initial review.

North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which approved the controversial Success Regime plans for maternity, said it had received word that this is now complete.

They are now waiting to hear whether Mr Hunt will rule that the CCG's decision was correct and allow it to push ahead with the changes, or whether a more in depth review will be carried out.

Stephen Childs, chief executive, told today's Governing Body meeting, held at Carlisle Racecourse, that progress is being made.

"Thankfully, at long last, this is making its way through the system. We've responded with the information requested by the panel," he said.

Mr Childs said he understood the results of the initial review had now been submitted to Mr Hunt's office. "We should expect a response from the Secretary of State within the next few weeks, certainly before the next Governing Body meeting," he added.

The CCG decided in March to approve plans to downgrade the maternity unit at the West Cumberland Hospital, sending women in labour to Carlisle to give birth.

But it first agreed to give the Whitehaven unit a 12-month reprieve, during which it would work with the community - via a high-profile "co-production" process - to see if staffing issues can be resolved.

Mr Childs said this work had already begun, via the Working Together steering group, and was going well.

But Les Hanley, a lay member of the CCG Governing Body, said that there are still some campaigners who are not getting involved.

He said: "There are still a group of people that won't, for whatever reason, get involved in the group but are still quite vociferous.

"It is quite negative, the way this group operate."

There was also some discussion about how the informal steering group's work will feed into the formal NHS planning process.