LOTS of work is happening in the background to restore Level 3 critical care services at Furness General Hospital.
Just over six months ago I hosted a packed public meeting at Hawcoat Park Sports Club in Barrow for members of the public to openly discuss the deeply unpopular proposals by the Integrated Care Board to permanently stop providing the critical care services we all depend on.
We said we would fight the board’s plans to send critically-ill patients by ambulance along the notorious A590 to receive treatment at Lancaster Royal Infirmary.
Everyone who attended that meeting at Hawcoat Park – and all those who joined our campaign against the proposed changes – have played their part in making sure that the ICB has been forced to look again at this hugely important matter.
Readers may remember that last year I also formally asked government ministers to use their powers under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service to call in the proposal.
If it comes to it, I am prepared to push for ministers to step in.
However, I am hopeful that it will not come to that. From the start I have always said that with a proper plan and coordination we can fix the challenges that the ICB has identified in their reasons for closing level 3 critical care.
I have therefore been working with partners including University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Team Barrow, BAE Systems, national government departments, NHS England and the University of Cumbria work together to create a positive vision for the future.
That must happen so we can attract the clinicians we need for critical care and other important service at FGH.
To move this forward, I recently set up a working group to explore possible solutions. The group has identified options including developing the research and robotics offer at FGH that will make sure we have what is needed to keep attracting the best clinicians in the country.
Work is also being taken forward looking at approaches that have worked elsewhere in the country; for example, the partnership between Portsmouth Hospital and the Ministry of Defence to train military doctors.
There has been a good response from all the organisations involved in this work and I believe there’s a real opportunity here to find solutions that will not only restore level 3 critical care, but to ensure it thrives for many years to come.
I have therefore written to the ICB calling on them to immediately pause their process for permanently closing level 3 critical care.
This pause is essential to provide the time and stability needed for the collaborative work to progress.
There is real momentum, and it is crucial that it is not undermined by the ongoing threat of closure.