Alston Alliance urges their community to comment on the future of health and care plans

[A]n invitation has gone to all residents of Alston Moor to come and comment on current proposals for the future of health and care for the area.

They are invited to come to the hospital on the 18th November between 11am and 4pm to look at the suggestions and speak to the members of the Alston Alliance who have helped shaped them.

Malcolm Forster from the Alston League of Friends said: “It is really important that local people are given the chance to have their say in the future of their healthcare. We have proposals but we need to know if there is anything that we have missed or anything that people need more information on.”

The decision was made in March this year that the in-patient beds in Alston, Maryport and Wigton would close. The local alliances – made up of the League of Friends, other community representatives, the NHS and interested members of the public, working together with Social Care, developed plans of how their local heath and care could be delivered so it best suited the needs of those areas without in-patient beds.

Dr Craig Melrose, the Associate Medical Director for community services at Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Alliance has worked hard to look at how we can provide high quality community nursing to Alston Moor. Having to temporarily close the in-patients beds due to staffing over the last few months has given us the opportunity to deliver these extended community services and test out our plans.”

As well as the chance to comment on the proposals for health and care there will be the opportunity to speak to representatives from a range of services to understand how they work on Alston Moor. Apart from health and care there will be other providers such as the police, county and district council and others.

Alice Bondi, a member of the Alston Alliance, is also leading on the development of a community plan for Alston. She said: “When we first consulted about the Community Plan, many people expressed concern about the provision of services on Alston Moor. Unsurprisingly, the hospital and medical services were at the top of the list. Now we have a proposal for the health and care services that I believe will give us all confidence in that aspect of our future. I would urge people to come and comment on them.

“There will also be the opportunity to talk to some of the other providers and develop ideas for our Community Plan so that we can keep Alston Moor a really good place to live. Are you concerned about the police, what the district and county councils are doing, our ambulance, the schools, how agricultural subsidies work? Find out more and share your thoughts.”

As well as being able to question and comment on the Alliance plans, these services and organisations will be there on the day:

Health and care services: