HELICOPTERS could be used to overcome the transport difficulties faced by ambulances to west Cumbria.

It comes as health leaders consider setting up a new emergency care teaching centre in Whitehaven to help tackle high profile staff shortages.

Hugh Reeve, interim chief clinical officer at NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), is one of the key figures within the so-called Success Regime – one of 11 set up by the Government to tackle deep-rooted problems across the most troubled health systems.

North Cumbria was singled out because its hospitals are in special measures, has major staff shortages and huge debts.

“We have major challenges,” Dr Reeve admitted. “We have to provide healthcare to a population that’s spread far and wide across a very rural county.

“I think it’s the most challenging in England in terms of geography. We struggle to deliver with the money we are given. We spend significantly more.

“Across the whole of Cumbria it’s not far short of £100m overspend,” he said.

“These are figures beyond what most people can imagine. And that’s potentially each year. It’s an enormous challenge.”

The Success Regime is tasked with coming up with a strategy that will provide the services people need, safely, and within available funds.

“One of the things we’ve been discussing is creating a centre for emergency rural medicine,” Dr Reeve explained.

Linked to the University of Central Lancashire at Westlakes, the aim would be to make the West Cumberland Hospital a national centre for those interested in emergency rural medicine. The hope is it would then attract top consultants and students to the area.

The Success Regime is also looking at transport.

Dr Reeve, 58, said: “In the past people have tended to forget that if you move a service you still have to transport people to it. That brings with it an extra cost for ambulances.

“As part of the transport strand it’s looking at helicopters. The current air ambulance only flies in daylight and when it’s not too cloudy.

“There are helicopters that fly in all weather. The naval ones can fly in any condition and at night. We are exploring that as a possibility for some situations.”

They are also looking to other countries, including rural Scotland, Scandinavia and Canada for inspiration.

The Success Regime is made up of leaders of all the local health trusts, with input from national NHS leaders. Asked whether the current crisis can be resolved, Dr Reeve said: “I feel more positive than I did a year ago. I’m generally quite optimistic but a year ago I was thinking I can’t see how we are going to square this one.

“I feel we’ve now got the best chance.”

A GP in south Cumbria since 2001, Dr Reeve said what was different this time was that everyone was working together.

“We’ve also got access to national leaders,” he continued. “We’ve never had that before. I’ve never felt Cumbria has been on the national radar.

“Whether they have got the answers or can help us find them is another matter. We will have to wait and see.

“To be quite honest, if we get anywhere near achieving this it will be a first for a health system in the UK.”

Traditionally he said the health service has just bailed out struggling trusts, but that’s no longer an option in a “creaking” NHS.

Dr Reeve said the only chance of extra funds was to come up with a genuine long-term solution that justifies investment.

“It has been recognised that we need more money. But the NHS is in such a financial state it’s not forthcoming. We have tried.

“The NHS want to see we have got a plan that makes sense and the local population understand before they are prepared to talk about releasing extra resources.

“They are not prepared to just give money to wipe out the deficit like before.”

Dr Reeve said as part of that plan, they will have to make changes because the current system isn’t working.

“I really believe passionately that the NHS can deliver solutions for Cumbria. The difficulty is they may not look like they traditionally have. We are going to have to think very imaginatively.

“We as a CCG have said there are certain things we want to maintain on the west coast – A&E, medical and maternity,” he continued.

“Our challenge is that it’s serving quite a small population so those services won’t look like the ones you get in central Newcastle.”

The Success Regime expects to publish its plan at the end on March, prior to formal consultation.