A public meeting is set to be held this week to discuss West Cumbria’s A&E provision.
Josh MacAlister, the Labour Parliamentary candidate for the area, has written to the boss of the health trust which runs the West Cumberland Hospital.
Recent reports claimed that there was a risk of staff shortages at the hospital and Mr MacAlister has asked Lyn Simpson, chief executive of the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, to guarantee the West Cumberland’s A&E department will remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The trust said it was not planning to shut A&E and although there was a national shortage of doctors, and there was a risk they would not be able to provide appropriate overnight cover in the future, it was working very hard to maintain services.
Mr MacAlister has also organised a meeting, with Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Mahesh Dherbar, of the We Need West Cumberland Hospital campaign group.
The meeting takes place on Thursday at 4pm at Whitehaven Civic Hall.
People are asked to register for the event here: https://joshforwestcumbria.co.uk/saveourae/
