Ambulance bosses have failed to explain how women and babies will be safe, despite a controversial U-turn on maternity plans.

The News & Star last week published a leaked letter from Derek Cartwright , chief executive of the North West Ambulance Service , expressing serious concerns about Success Regime proposals.

But, after the letter was made public, NWAS quickly backtracked, saying it had now revceived assurances that the issues Mr Cartwright raised had been addressed.

It went as far as saying it now fully supports the Regime's preferred option to remove consultant-led maternity from Whitehaven, which will result in hundreds of women have to travel to Carlisle to give birth.

The News & Star has now put a series of questions to NWAS asking for more detail about these reassurances, and who gave them. But the answers supplied fail to give the detail requested.

Mr Cartwright's initial letter to the Success Regime said that the preferred option was not clinically safe, that transfer times to Carlisle were "vastly greater" than the 45 to 48 minutes quoted in the consultation document, and that the whole process would "far exceed" national guidelines for emergency caesareans.

We therefore asked for detail explanations of how these concerns have now been addressed - and how timescales can now meet safe guidelines when the distances remain the same.

What we asked NWAS:

  • How have the timescales been addressed? If times were underestimated, how can that have changed?
  • How can women now get to Carlisle within a safe timescale for caesareans?
  • Escort arrangements have been mentioned. Who will provide this? Will midwives be on ambulance or paramedics?
  • Mr Cartwright raised concerns about the impact the extra demand will have on other ambulance cover. How has this been addressed?
  • Who has provided these assurances? Will these discussions be made public?

In response, NWAS did not reply to all of the questions.

A statement said: "NWAS is assured by the work undertaken with its other NHS Cumbria partners, which essentially provides an appropriate level of clinical escort which is commensurate with the patient’s clinical condition for maternity transfers between the two sites. In addition to a paramedic, this may include a midwife and/or other specialist escort.

"In addition NWAS has confirmed that the journey time of 45 to 48 minutes referenced in the consultation document refers to the average additional journey time from patients’ homes to the relevant hospital. The figures do not refer to the 'site to site' journey time from West Cumberland Hospital to the Cumberland Infirmary."

It added that detailed arrangements will be drawn up in the coming months alongside the Regime.

Paramedic Mike Oliver, of health union Unison, said the answers do not reassure those working in the ambulance service. "They have lost any confidence in the whole process. They have lost faith. It seems like the consultation has been a tick-box exercise," he said.

"How is all this happening behind closed doors? It was a public consultation yet just because they haven't liked something that was said, they appear to have changed it."

David Atkinson, also of Unison, added that staff had initially welcomed Mr Cartwright's letter, as it set out in detail the concerns they shared. But he said that, following the U-turn, they now feel "let down".