Progress has been made on work to reopen critical care at Furness General Hospital – but the Trust and ICB said no guarantees are being made.
The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said positive steps forward have been taken towards reinstating Level 3 critical care at the hospital.
Furness General Hospital and the Trust said the following progress has been made in recent months:
- Recruitment to key posts at the hospital continues with some positive successes – including the recruitment of two consultant intensivists
- Development of a new enhanced model of care which looks after the sickest patients at FGH – developed in partnership by intensivists and surgeons
- Submission of a bid to fund a research and education programme aimed at nurses, Allied Health Professionals and medics
- Development of a business case as the first step in developing a potential robotic surgery offer at FGH that would improve patient outcomes and help attract clinicians to work at the hospital
- Ongoing discussions with Defence Medical Services to see what support may be available, including the potential for deployed defence medical colleagues as happens in some other hospitals elsewhere in NHS England
- Establishment of a FGH Working Group that has considerable commitment from partners, including BAE Systems, local elected representatives, NHS England and others, in supporting discussions about the long-term future of healthcare services in Furness and Barrow
Both the Trust and ICB said in a joint statement that they are committed to providing people in Furness with access to safe and sustainable services.
It added: “We cannot, and will not, provide a service that is unsafe.
“That said, we also want to ensure that we take the appropriate time to fully explore and evaluate potential alternative models of care for Level 3 critical care at FGH and determine the best way forward.
“The ICB and the Trust agree that it is important to be flexible on the timings to allow the time and space for further exploration to be done and to accelerate the positive work that is underway.”
While both said positive progress is being made, it added that there is no guarantee Level 3 critical care will be reinstated in the future.
It said: “We believe it is important that the work currently underway, together with the forthcoming Clinical Senate review, is allowed to further inform our understanding of what may be clinically, operationally, and financially safe and sustainable in the future.
“To be clear, the above is positive progress but we are not yet in a place where we can safely reinstate ongoing Level 3 care at FGH, nor it is a guarantee that we will be able to in the future.
“No final decisions to permanently change Level 3 care at FGH are planned to be made before October 2027. This gives us time to be able to carry on with the improvement work and ensure that any future decisions are informed by the best available clinical evidence and expertise.
“Alongside this, we remain committed to listening carefully to the views of patients, colleagues, local communities, elected representatives, and wider stakeholders as part of the ongoing process.
“We would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support, and we will update further as we progress.”
Barrow and Furness MP Michelle Scrogham said she welcomed the news, but added there is work still be done.
She said, “I welcome today’s statement from the ICB setting out the progress that has been made on re-opening level 3 critical care at FGH and pushing back any decision around permanent closure until Autumn 2027 at the earliest.
“The ICB has acknowledged that the working group I established on this has been making considerable steps forward.
“I have been asking that they give us the time and space needed to maintain that progress, and I am pleased they have today agreed to that.
“This is a significant concession from the ICB but there is still work to do.”
