Barrow and Furness MP, Michelle Scrogham is ‘very encouraged by the excellent progress’ that the Furness General Hospital Working Group has made.

Set up in April, this year,the Furness General Hospital Working Group was created with the aim of creating a practical, and deliverable, plan to restore Level 3 critical care.

The Barrow and Furness MP has spoken after a meeting of the Working Group saying: “I have been very encouraged by the excellent progress we have made in just two months, and the constructive engagement of all organisations involved.

“There is now a consensus that NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB’s plan to permanently decommissioning Level 3 critical care will have far-reaching consequences for Furness General Hospital.

“Such a decision would not only impact the most critically ill patients but would also lead to a gradual decline in Level 1 and Level 2 care.

“Over time, this would inevitably affect the viability of other vital departments, including A&E and maternity, thereby eroding the sustainability of the hospital.”

Following the meeting of the Furness General Hospital Working Group there were several progress updates.

• A bid has been made to fund a research and education programme aimed at nurses, Allied Health Professionals, and medics.
• A business case is being written 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.
• Discussions are ongoing with Defence Medical Services to see what support may be available.
• Recruitment to key posts at the hospital continues with some positive successes recently.
• Further work is underway to look at what additional support can be provided around the wider factors influencing recruitment and retention in the area.

Michelle Scrogham MP added: “What is now required is time and stability to allow this work to move forward.

“The ICB’s continued threat of permanent decommissioning level 3 critical care is actively undermining our efforts to restore it.

“It is making recruitment significantly more difficult at a time when attracting high-quality clinicians is essential.

“I will therefore be meeting with the Chief Executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB next week to ask, once again, that they pause the current decommissioning process it is pursuing.

“Doing so would provide the necessary time and space for the collaborative work now in progress to bear fruit and allow a viable, sustainable, model for Level 3 care to be fully developed.”