Calls have been made for health bosses to quit over controversial decisions about health services across Cumbria.

NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group ’s (CCG) governing body agreed to impose options put forward by the Government-appointed Success Regime, despite widespread opposition from across the county.

That included the downgrading of paediatrics in Whitehaven, meaning all seriously ill children will now have to travel to Carlisle, while stroke services will also be centralised at the Cumberland Infirmary.

It was also agreed to close community hospital beds in Maryport, Alston and Wigton, although bosses will work with the affected communities to draw up alternatives and some are hopeful beds could still be saved.

Consultant-led maternity in Whitehaven was given a 12-month reprieve while efforts are made to tackle recruitment problems, but if unsuccessful it could also be centralised without any further public consultation.

Now representatives from NHS campaign groups across the area have joined forces to demand that decision makers resign.

The calls come in an open letter to the CCG governing body, signed by Annette Robson of the We Need West Cumberland Hospital group, Helen Davison of Cumbria Health Campaigns Together , Alice Bondi of Alston Moor Health Campaign Group, Bill Barnes of Maryport’s Save Our Beds (SOB) campaign, and the Sean Cullen of the We All Stand Together group, set up with Sellafield union members to defend local services.

It says: “We, as representatives of NHS campaign groups in Cumbria, hereby call on the members of the governing body to resign.

“We recognise that members were given little or no choice by the Government to do anything other than approve one or other of the options offered in the Success Regime consultation. However your resignation over this point would have been admirable and would have better represented the views of the mass of people who rejected the consultation outright.

“Instead, the decisions taken will lead to a significant reduction in health services across the county, have a severe negative impact on the health of Cumbrian communities and on the communities themselves.”

The letter has been sent to CCG chairman Hugh Reeve, but also copied to Prime Minister Theresa May, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and local MPs.

It adds: “The CCG Governing Body has ignored the views of medical professionals and large numbers of local people.

“These decisions have made a mockery of the whole consultation process into which communities across Cumbria have put so much thought and commitment.

“Those members who fail to take this further opportunity to resign will carry the responsibility for providing an unsafe service which will cause death or injury to the people they are charged with looking after.”

Health bosses insist they have listened to the views of local communities, resulting in the extra time for maternity services. They say the work to recruit is genuine and will heavily involve the local community.

The CCG has also stressed that it will to continue to work with community hospital campaigners to develop their alternative plans, and these could potentially include beds of some sort, though not necessarily medical beds.

Bosses have urged the local community to work with them, claiming that “co-production” is essential to sustaining health services.