Community hospital campaigners have issued a scathing attack on the Success Regime's public consultation.

The Joint League of Friends believes the Healthcare for the Future document is so flawed it could be challenged in a court of law.

They claim the controversial proposals to overhaul the local NHS have been drawn up by outsiders who, once the changes are agreed, will simply move on and leave someone else to pick up the pieces.

The Joint League - which is backing our Save Our Services campaign - is made up of representatives from all of the area's cottage hospitals, who are fighting to save their beds.

They have now gone through the document put forward by the Government's Success Regime as part of the ongoing public consultation and come up with a detailed list of almost 30 criticisms.

They say the report itself is lacking vital detail, including full costed arguments for all of the options, and the limited financial details that are available are on a separate website and not easy to find.

The questionnaire people are being asked to fill in - which asks them to score options in order of preference when they may not agree with any -is also labelled confusing and unclear.

And limited distribution of copies of the document to those without internet access - including many older people who will be most affected by the planned bed cuts - is also questioned.

It is also claimed that, despite being raised across the board at the Regime's earlier engagement meetings, the document still does not properly address or make allowances for issues such as geography or Cumbria's so-called "super-ageing" population.

The Joint League says: "It has been clear that the Success Regime have struggled to understand that transport in this extensive rural county is quite different from in urban areas, and even 'green belt' areas of the south.

"Sparsity of population together with the 'super-ageing' combine to leave many single people and couples with great mobility problems.

"Public transport is for many no more than a dream, and large numbers of people do not have access to, or the ability to drive cars."

Plans to cut beds at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary are also criticised, as is the lack of input from social care to explain exactly how people would be cared for in their homes with limited resources.

The group states: "Recent evidence is that 40 beds per day are 'blocked' at the Cumberland Infirmary for want of the alternative care systems that would be more appropriate for, in particular, frail elderly people.

"One of the suggestions is that acute beds will be reduced from 600 to 500, which can only exacerbate the bed-blocking, making the reductions in community beds even more ill-advised."

In summary, the Joint League adds: "We believe that the format and execution of this 'consultation exercise' is flawed to the extent that it could be challenged in court.

"More importantly, it disregards the many local factors which make the practices of other NHS areas unsuitable for this county.

"It has been produced by temporary visitors to our home county.

"They will move on, and leave us, the people, with a long-term commitment to Cumbria, to pick up the pieces.

"It is in our interests to make our hospitals and health services as efficient and high in quality as they can be.

"After all, most of us will live and die here."

They go on to call on the Success Regime to think again, and adopt a more constructive approach to finding a real solution.

The Success Regime has stressed that no decisions have been made, and that it is a genuine consultation. Bosses say extra reports will be added to the dedicated website in the coming days to provide more detail on some of the proposals. They add that hard copies of the consultation document are being distributed through local libraries and at the upcoming public meetings, and have urged people to fill in the questionnaires to ensure the views are heard.

To support the Save Our Services campaign sign the online form here or download a copy of the paper petition here