Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been challenged to visit Cumbria and see for himself the problems facing the troubled local NHS.

It comes as serious patient safety incidents uncovered by the News & Star and sister paper The Cumberland News were flagged up in Parliament.

West Cumbrian MP Jamie Reed was speaking in a debate he secured in Westminster Hall yesterday, during which he set out a raft of concerns about the future of healthcare in the area.

He told Health Minister Ben Gummer about an incident in which a patient died after being transferred from the West Cumberland Hospital to the Cumberland Infirmary.

He also raised concerns about options to move more services from Whitehaven to Carlisle, major staffing shortages, funding shortfalls and the potential closure of community hospital beds.


Jeremy Hunt Now the Labour MP has written to the Secretary of State, calling on Mr Hunt to visit west Cumbria and its healthcare facilities.

Similar concerns were voiced last night at a public meeting in Whitehaven organised by the Success Regime – the body set up by the Government to tackle problems in north Cumbria’s debt-stricken NHS. 


Related:   Success Regime bosses grilled over health plans at public meeting


But Mr Reed also questioned whether this body is achieving its original goal, accusing the Government of refusing to listen, or grant the regime the resources it needs to succeed.

He said: “I am told, from within the process, that the Success Regime and the people within it know what we need to do as a health economy but as soon as ideas are put forward, they are being knocked down.

“Rather than a process of investigation and improvement, it has become a cost-management tool.”

He also called on the Government to recognise that a “premium” is required to ensure west Cumbria has all the services it needs.

Putting forward questions submitted by local people and organisations, Mr Reed asked Mr Gummer: “Does the Government recognise that centralising services in Carlisle is about cost, not service quality, and that this will lead to worse outcomes for patients?”

He praised the News & Star for its investigative work, referring to recent articles – including that published on Tuesday about a serious incident investigation into allegations that specialist medical staff were not alerted to a patient’s arrival in Carlisle after being transferred from Whitehaven. They subsequently had a cardiac arrest and died.


Related:   Inquiry launched after patient dies following transfer to Carlisle hospital


Mr Reed said: “If this is true then not only is this a direct result and a damning indictment of policy but the inevitable consequence of an over-burdened, under-funded, under-staffed system.

“I cannot imagine the despair that the family of the deceased must feel and I cannot describe how angry I am that a constituent of mine has died as a result of being transferred from the West Cumberland Hospital to the Cumberland Infirmary.”

Responding to Mr Reed’s points, Mr Gummer said priorities were something they needed to get right in Cumbria.

He insisted the Success Regime has had no further instruction from the Government. 

He added that he was frustrated at the length of time the body was taking to come up with an improvement plan, but said it was important that proper processes were followed.

“I want to see a conclusion to this. A proper clinical resolution. It’s not for me to say what that should be,” he added. “What I will say is that we will give Cumbria all the means to be able to achieve what it needs to, financial or representative.”

Mr Gummer added that it has already given the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) a three per cent rise in funding this year,but he said the answer wasn’t just financial, that there also needs to be reform.

Mr Reed also pressed for a commitment for funding for the next phase of the West Cumberland Hospital redevelopment to be released. Mr Gummer said he would look into the reason behind the delay.

Also present at the debate were Workington’s Labour MP Sue Hayman and Carlisle’s Conservative MP John Stevenson.