The health trust which operates hospitals in Barrow, Kendal and Lancaster is being urged to reconsider plans to press ahead with changes to the way some patients are treated.
The proposals were announced earlier this month but there are claims that the organisation has failed to properly communicate plans with staff and the community or allow time for discussion.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has said the proposals will improve patient care, streamline clinical pathways and reduce length of stay.
The Barrow and Furness MP Michelle Scrogham and Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron have both voiced concern over the manner the changes were announced.
Tomorrow an extraordinary meeting of Westmorland and Furness Council’s Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held to discuss the plans after the authority said significant concerns of committee members and other local community representatives had been received ‘about the planned reconfiguration of wards and beds and the level of public and stakeholder engagement undertaken to this point by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay Trust.’
I'm deeply alarmed about the decision to close hospital wards in Kendal and Barrow.
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) November 26, 2024
I'm even more concerned that this is being done with absolutely no consultation with the local community.
I've written to the Chief Executive of Morecambe Bay Trust urging him to reconsider. pic.twitter.com/amVuyy77jc
“This is not the public meeting and consultation that I have been asking for but it is at least a step forward in UHMBT being more transparent about the changes they want to make,” Michelle Scrogham said.
“I am really pleased that there has been cross-party agreement on this issue and I know from conversations with committee members that the committee will be pushing the Trust to hold proper consultation with staff and the public on these changes.”
Meanwhile her Parliamentary neighbour Tim Farron shared a letter he’s written to the trust’s chief executive Aaron Cummins in which he says NHS staff have expressed concerns about plans to move gynaecology inpatients to a mixed sex ward.
“I am ever more concerned that all of these decisions appear to be happening without any consultation with patients and the local community,” Mr Farron wrote. “I therefore urge you to halt these closures and instead put these decisions out to public consultation.”
The trust says the changes did not require public consultation as they did not involve alterations or reductions to its services.
Mrs Scrogham is also calling for the changes to be halted to allow more discussions to take place.
“The trust must confirm to the committee that they will be pausing any changes whilst they undertake a full consultation and do the detailed work needed to understand the potential impact on the sustainability of FGH, ” she said.
Westmorland and Furness Council’s Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets at Barrow Town Hall tomorrow, Wednesday November 27 at 1.30pm. The committee is composed of elected councillors from Westmorland & Furness Council.
