Health chiefs looking to take beds out of a community hospital faced a barrage of furious residents at a packed public meeting.
Residents from the Alston Moor area crammed into the hall at Samuel King's School tonight to quiz Success Regime leaders.
Under the proposals put forward Alston's hospital would lose its six beds, something which has angered the community.
Residents spoke passionately about the plans saying the beds were vital considering Alston is an extremely isolated community.
They also questioned the idea of "integrated care communities" - a concept health chiefs want to implement replace cottage hospitals in areas that are losing them.
Residents say that Alston's unique geography means caring for people at home and having medical professionals travelling long distances will leave them worse off.
More on the meeting in The Cumberland News on Friday.
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