Barrow and Furness MP, Michelle Scrogham has welcomed the examination of the decision to decommission critical care services at Furness General Hospital.

The MP received formal confirmation from the Minister of State for Health, Karin Smyth MP, that the Department of Health and Social Care is now considering whether it should intervene in NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB’s plans to permanently decommission Level 3 critical care services at Furness General Hospital.

The Barrow and Furness MP, who has been campaigning against the planned changes, requested that the Secretary of State ‘Call-In’ the plans when they were announced last July and has continued to press Ministers to use the powers available to them to overturn the decision.

Michelle Scrogham MP said: “I would like to thank the Minister for confirming that the Department for Health and Social Care will be looking at whether this decision should be called in.

“I have been clear that removing Level 3 critical care from Furness General Hospital raises serious questions about patient safety, the resilience of our local NHS, and the wider national implications for the defence sector.

“I welcome the Department’s decision to examine these concerns in detail.”

The Minister has now written to say that she has “asked her officials to look into the issues that have been raised and to provide advice to the Secretary of State on whether he should use the powers under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006 to call-in the proposal by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) to permanently decommission Level 3 critical care services at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow.”

The Minister confirmed that officials have been instructed to examine the issue after the local MP raised concerns including:

• the safety implications for an isolated patient population,
• the long‑term sustainability of Furness General Hospital, and
• the potential impact on the UK’s defence nuclear enterprise.

The Department has confirmed that a decision on whether to call-in a proposal will be informed by whether the proposed change meets at least one of the following criteria:

1. There are concerns with the process that has been followed by the NHS commissioning body or NHS provider, or

2. A decision has been made and there are concerns that a proposal is not in the best interests of the health service in the area.

In addition, Ministers may consider whether the reconfiguration proposal “is considered to be substantial, as well as looking at the regional or national significance of an NHS service reconfiguration and the impact on the quality, safety or effectiveness of services.”