Hospital bosses have been forced to close beds at Carlisle's Cumberland infirmary due to nurse shortages.

Six beds on Elm A, the city hospital's frailty unit, are currently closed.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Carlisle and Whitehaven hospitals, said the decision was taken on patient safety grounds.

Maurya Cushlow, executive director of nursing & midwifery at the trust, said: “We closely monitor our nurse staffing levels in order to ensure the levels meet our patients’ requirements and ensure that patient safety is paramount.

"If we are experiencing staff shortages, we will take the decision to temporarily close beds in order to keep our patients safe, which we have done recently with six beds at the Cumberland Infirmary."

It is not yet known how long the beds will remain closed.

However she added that every effort is being made to boost nursing numbers, which have been an issue for some time.

“The trust board has made a commitment to invest in additional nursing staff, therefore we increased our nursing establishment from April 2017, meaning we have actually created more vacancies in order to provide higher numbers of staff on our wards," she said.

"We are now actively working to fill those vacancies and have recently appointed 19 new nurses. We are absolutely committed to increasing and strengthening our workforce for the future.”

Nursing shortages are a problem right across Cumbria, including at some of the area's community hospitals.

Beds at Alston Community Hospital have been closed on a temporary basis for some time while efforts are made to recruit.

There is also a high-profile national shortage of nurses across the NHS, along with doctors and paramedics.