NCIC Trust is to receive funding and support under the NHS Intensive Recovery programme - Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced.
Directors of North Cumbria Integrated Care discussed the Government's announcement, alongside the trust's Urgent and Emergency Care investment plan at its board meeting on Wednesday morning (March 25).
Government intervention
On the morning of the board meeting, NCIC was announced as one of five trusts that will receive targeted support from the Department for Health and Social Care.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting said: "In some places, so many years of poor service without improvement is feeding that sense of fatalism.
"They believe that after so long, it just can’t get better – in fact, they’ve never seen it get better. That’s why I’ve announced today a new intensive recovery programme."
Mr Streeting said: "This will target the worst performing providers, sending in our best leaders or delivering the structural changes necessary to get them back on track."
Speaking at the public board meeting, Interim Chief Executive Trudie Davies said: "I was made aware of this over the last couple of days as Teresa and I have been and actually we would like to say that we really welcome the additional support from the Government to this organisation.
"Over the last six months, since I've had the pleasure of joining the organisation, we have made significant improvements which will be obvious throughout today's agenda."
Ms Davies thanked NCIC staff throughout the meeting for delivering recent improvements, specifically mentioning development of infrastructure, digital, people services and clinical services.
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She said: "We are very proud of everything that we've done but we still remain a challenged organisation and those intractable issues have existed for over 20 years in Cumbria, any additional support that we can be given to improve the outcomes for our patients and address the health inequalities that our population face, will be welcomed by this leadership team."
Ms Davies said: "We expect as a leadership team to embrace those opportunities to further improve and I think it's just really important to have on record that we are grateful for the support that our MPs, the ICB and NHS England have been giving us in achieving those improvements because all our staff, really want to achieve those benefits."
In a joint letter to Mr Streeting, Carlisle MP Julie Minns and MP for Whitehaven and Workington Josh MacAlister paid tribute to "the important progress that has been made at the Trust over recent months."
They asked that NHS England bring in targeted, specialised improvement support, helping the trust "identify practical steps needed to go further and faster."
Investment in Urgent and Emergency Care
The board meeting saw directors agree four investments which will contribute to "a transformed position across Urgent Care."
One business case, worth £1,219,433.15 will see a new Urgent Treatment Centre on Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary site, fully staffed and operational by June.
Directors heard that the UTC will eliminate overcrowding in A&E and deliver a 2.2 per cent improvement in four hour waits.
The investment plan also includes recruiting additional consultants for acute medicine at the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital; expansion of Medical Same Day Emergency Care Units (SDECs) and the establishment of Hospital at Home Hubs.
Executive Medical Director, Doctor Adrien Clements said: "We're not layering on things on top we're actually putting things in place which others have. Our population deserves what other people have in other parts of the country.
A pilot of the Hospital at Home initiative is utilising two beds on the Copeland Unit at West Cumberland Hospital to treat frailty patients who otherwise would have been admitted via A&E.
Capital investment will see the SDEC facilities at the Cumberland Infirmary improved as well as additional working hours across the trust's sites.
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