£40 million revamp of West Cumberland Hospital given green light
Artist’s impression of £40m phase two redevelopment at West Cumberland Hospital
A £40 million plan to deliver the second phase of redevelopment of Whitehaven’s West Cumberland Hospital has been given the green light.
  North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, plans to replace around 40 per cent of the original buildings.Â
Demolition of the existing hospital buildings has already been undertaken to make way for 60 inpatient beds, encompassing elderly care, step down facilities and end of life care.
The plans also include a short stay paediatric assessment unit, assessment area and seven inpatient beds.Â
Health leaders have joined together to urge the public to do their bit after a third wave of infections brought a challenge on a scale that we haven’t seen before . The first week in January was Cumbria’s worst week for new Covid-19 infections with 3,499 across the county, which has brought extraordinary pressure on health and care services that has never been experienced before. As well as a tripling of people needing hospital treatment for coronavirus in the last three weeks, the very high level of infection in the community is also having an impact on staffing in all sectors due to the number needing to self-isolate.
Over recent weeks, the social media feeds of most MPs have shown the very detailed work they are doing to map exactly what is going on with Covid-19 vaccinations in their constituency. You can read about what they are doing to ensure that bottlenecks for vaccination are addressed. You can read the letters they are writing to the health secretary which precisely describe what’s working, what’s not working so well and what needs to happen next. Last week Sir Ed Davey won his battle to ensure that voluntary carers who need to be vaccinated to carry out their caring were added to the category of carers eligible for early vaccination.
Chief Constable Michelle Skeer AN unprecedented appeal from Cumbrian leaders for people to stay local was prompted in part by reports of people flocking to the Lake District to enjoy the scenic winter landscape. With infection rates across the county - and particularly in Carlisle - soaring, local leaders joined forces to publish an open letter. It urges everybody to save lives by not going for days out. Lockdown rules mean rule-breakers can be punished with hefty on-the-spot fines. All of the county s MPs have signed the letter, as well as senior public figures such as Cumbria Tourism boss Gill Haigh, the most senior manager at North Cumbria s two acute hospitals Lyn Simpson, and Chief Constable Michelle Skeer.
An open letter from Cumbria’s leaders has been released to the people of the county to stay local during lockdown. It says: “All authorities and partners in Cumbria are appealing to residents and visitors to adhere to the new lockdown guidance which are in place to protect the NHS and.