Health chiefs have thanked councillors for their input over controversial plans to change the level of critical care offered at a South Cumbrian hospital.
Members of Westmorland & Furness Council’s Health and Adults Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday September 24, to discuss the proposals for Furness General Hospital in Barrow.
Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board announced in July that the highest level of critical care will not return to Barrow.
It said Level 3 intensive care, which was suspended at Furness General Hospital a year ago due to issues with recruiting staff, would become a permanent move.
The move prompted an outcry – and a 13,000-name petition against the plans.
Councillor Dyan Jones, chair of the Health and Adults Scrutiny Committee, said: “Our priority is ensuring that local people have their voices heard on such important proposals.
The council’s response has been communicated to the board.
Professor Craig Harris, chief operating officer for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “We have received the written recommendation from Westmorland and Furness Health and Adult Scrutiny Committee, and we thank them for their input.
“Going forward we will be agreeing next steps and appropriate governance ensuring it’s in line with NHSE service change guidance.
“We will also be working closely with partner organisations. Arranging a public consultation is a complex and regulated process and one that we have to ensure we follow correctly.”
The board is continuing to hold a series of patient engagement sessions starting on Wednesday October 8.
The three levels of adult intensive care are defined by the intensity of organ support and monitoring required.
Level 1 is for patients at risk of their condition deteriorating, requiring additional support and monitoring on a regular ward.
Level 2, also known as high dependency, provides support for a single failing organ system or post-operative care.
Level 3, the most intensive level, involves support for two or more failing organ systems, including mechanical ventilation.While the temporary change has been in place, patients who require Level 3 critical care were transferred to Royal Lancaster Infirmary, once stabilised.
Patients who needed levels 1 and 2 critical care continued to be treated and cared for at the hospital in Barrow.
Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said since the suspension of Level 3 at the hospital, there were 30 patients over a six-month period who have been transferred to a different provider, 10 of whom would have been transferred even if there had been a Level 3 unit at Furness General Hospital due to their clinical needs, and there had been no adverse outcomes.
