Proposals by the NHS to permanently reduce the level of care available at Furness General Hospital in Barrow have caused controversy with the area’s MP.
Michelle Scrogham, MP for Barrow and Furness, said she was angry at what she said had been a lack of communication about the change.
Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, the commissioners of the intensive care service at the hospital, suspended the highest level of care – level 3 – last September.
A lack of qualified and experienced staff was the original reason for the suspension, which at the time was said to be temporary. Now a review has suggested the change should be made permanent.
“When the suspension of care was made last September we were assured it was a temporary measure,” Mrs Scrogham said. “Now it looks like a permanent withdrawal was the plan all along.”
The board said only three permanent consultants were in post against a national guidance requirement of eight. Recruitment challenges were also being blamed.
“We’re worried changes like this will have a domino effect on other departments within the hospital,” Andy Coles, the leader of Barrow Town Council, said.
He added he was concerned the reduction in emergency care would thwart efforts by the Team Barrow initiative to promote the area to people keen to move to Furness.
He added: “What happens in the future when a bigger population does need an intensive care unit?”
Last night the town council passed an urgent motion demanding Sir Craig Mackey, the chief executive of NHS England, intervene.
The motion said: “Until now, both the trust and board had maintained that this downgrade would not be permanent and that recruitment efforts were progressing. This sudden reversal – without clear justification – has alarmed clinicians, patients, and the wider community.”
Patients needing the most urgent care have been transferred to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary since the temporary change came into effect.
The board said since the suspension of Level 3 care at Furness General Hospital, 30 patients were transferred, 10 of whom would have been transferred even if there had been a Level 3 unit at the Barrow hospital due to their clinical needs.
But Coun Coles says he believed the changes could lead to more patients who need a lower level of care being transferred as a precaution, putting pressure on the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Furness General Hospital, Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, issued Operational Pressures Escalation Level 4 for the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in February.
A petition against the latest changes launched by the Barrow and Furness MP attracted over 5,000 signature within a matter of hours.
“This is utterly the wrong decision,” Mrs Scrogham said. “I’m increasingly frustrated with management over their failure to communicate with the public let alone local authorities and the Government.”
This afternoon, Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness posted a survey to ‘gather local voices, opinions and personal experiences to help shape our response and ensure your voice is heard.’
The proposal will be discussed tonight at a meeting of Westmorland and Furness Council’s Furness Locality Board and has been moved forward to be included in next week’s full council meeting.
