Police escorts, trunk road status for the A595, and a community car scheme for visitors were just some of the long-term recommendations in a newly-released health report.

The report by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) was looking into provide a detailed look at anaesthetic arrangements for maternity provision at Whitehaven's West Cumberland Hospital.

Carried out in April, it acknowledged the need to recruit more anaesthetists but also the difficulty in recruiting them, particularly to "small maternity units with low activity rates".

It follows the ‘Healthcare for the Future’ public consultation and subsequent decisions taken by NHS North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in March.

Released yesterday, the RCoA report states "although strictly outside the remit of.. the review, there are a number of longer term recommendations, which could be pursued".

They state:

• There should be liaison with the local police service to provide without delay escorts for the most urgent emergency transfers to the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle (CIC) if consultant-led maternity units cannot be maintained at the CIC and WCH.

• Consideration should be given to re-instating national trunk road status to the A595 to ensure good maintenance and a clear route for emergencies.

• Some pump priming funding from local authorities to help with establishing (or expanding any existing) community car service for visitors.

• Local authorities to look into using development–related powers to raise more local funds for resourcing, particularly at WCH to support higher levels of patient safety whatever option is pursued.

The Review team also suggested that a national study should be undertaken by the relevant national bodies, NHSI and Royal Colleges, which looks at how services can be delivered in remote and/or rural areas, taking into account patient safety issues.

It was noted in the report that there is both "public criticism and adverse comment from some staff that insufficient effort has been made to explore alternative means of provision and recruitment for anaesthetic staffing.

There was, the report stated "an under supply of consultants and an over reliance on locum doctors at WCH....and it is dependent on two locum consultants for the provision of their anaesthetic service.

"The requirement to attract obstetric anaesthetists who can manage the ICU makes recruitment more difficult. That said, more imaginative ways of recruiting and retaining staff are being considered".

Public criticism and "adverse comment from some staff that insufficient effort has been made to explore alternative means of provision and recruitment for anaesthetic staffing" was also highlighted in the report.

Dr Rod Harpin, medical director and consultant anaesthetist at North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, said: “We are really grateful to the Royal College for spending time in both the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital and seeing the challenges we face.

"It is reassuring that they haven’t found anything that we weren’t already aware of, but it does confirm the challenges we face in establishing a sustainable anaesthetics rota which is an essential service in providing consultant-led maternity services.”

Dr David Rogers, medical director at NHS North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “It was very helpful that members of the Royal College were able to spend time at both hospitals and see for themselves the challenges we face and experience the journey between the two hospital sites.

"They were able to look at the Royal College standards and assess the way we deliver care in intensive care services as acceptable.

And he added: "They have also identified some issues which we have been highlighting as challenging for some time.”