Green light for health shake-up

Councillors have given the go-ahead to the next stage of a shake-up of acute health services in South Cumbria.

Health bosses want to stop treating patients with acute conditions at Westmorland General Hospital.

It is planned to care for them at larger, better equipped hospitals in Lancaster or Barrow.

Cumbria's Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee has now agreed that some patients with certain rare clinical conditions can be transferred.

Coronary care

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust originally closed the Westmorland General Hospital's 24-bed Ward 11 in October.

It was later reopened following concerns that alternative arrangements were inadequate.

A scrutiny meeting has now confirmed that councillors are satisfied that conditions for the closure of one of the wards have been met.

Scrutiny members, GPs and clinicians will be consulted and informed before it is agreed that a second ward can be closed.

This would be followed by the full change-over to the new model, which will involve the closure of the hospital's coronary care unit.