On 5th July, the NHS will celebrate its 78th birthday. North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) wants to mark the occasion by saying a huge ‘thank you’ to colleagues who work in over 350 different careers across the NHS and to celebrate some of the work being delivered locally in line with the 10 Year Health Plan.
Trudie Davies, Chief Executive at NCIC, said: “As we reflect on 78 years of our NHS, I must start by thanking staff for their unwavering commitment and hard work. The skill and dedication of our workforce underpins all of the accomplishments the NHS has achieved over the years, both nationally and locally.
“As well as reflecting, we are also looking forward. This milestone is the ideal time to share and celebrate some of the excellent developments and innovations in the NHS here in north Cumbria. We have recently seen a marked improvement in our performance with a reduction in waiting times which is not just about numbers – it is about the quality of care we provide to our patients.”
The NHS 10 Year Plan Fit for the Future, published in July 2025, sets out three big shifts in how the NHS works:
- From hospital to community: more care will be available on people’s doorsteps and in their homes
- From analogue to digital: new technology will liberate staff from admin and allow people to manage their care as easily as they bank or shop online
- From sickness to prevention: we’ll reach patients earlier and make the healthy choice the easy choice
A year on from the plan being published, NCIC is making positive progress:
From hospital to community
In Cumbria, we have a super-ageing population so it is vital that we have services in place to enhance the care we provide to people living with frailty.
Dr Emma Farrow, Collaborative Chair for Community services, explains: “I believe Cumbria can really lead the way when it comes to the shift from care in hospital to care in the community. We have got the teams in place, the understanding and the relationships which all put us in a great position to bring this all together for the benefit of our older population.”
Earlier this year, a pilot Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) service was launched at West Cumberland Hospital to see patients living with frailty who would otherwise have been referred to the hospital via A&E. Patients can now receive treatment on the Copeland Unit such as IV therapies which they previously would have been admitted to hospital for. The virtual wards team is also present in the new SDEC to identify patients suitable for their service.
Dr Farrow added: “We know hospital beds are the not the best place for patients living with frailty to be unless it is absolutely necessary; therefore the new frailty service aims to assess, treat and discharge patients on the same day, putting appropriate care in place at home if needed. We know that 10 days in a hospital bed equates to 10 years off your life expectancy with a risk of infections, deconditioning and delirium. We are delighted that following the pilot, we have now secured the funding we need to make the service permanent and introduce it at the Cumberland Infirmary.”
From analogue to digital
Patients across north Cumbria are now benefitting from a new digital system that is supporting safer, more connected care as NCIC successfully introduced the first phase of a new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system in May 2026. This marked a major milestone in the journey to replace paper records with a single, secure digital system used by clinical teams. The new system by Alcidion better connects services across the Trust – linking the Cumberland Infirmary, West Cumberland Hospital, and community hospitals - making it easier for staff to access up-to-date patient information wherever care is delivered.
By reducing reliance on paper records that need to be physically transported between locations, it supports a more efficient and joined-up approach to patient care across NCIC. The EPR rollout was recognised nationally for its success, with Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS England, describing North Cumbria’s launch as “incredibly smooth”. NHS England has also highlighted the programme as an “exemplar launch” that could help guide other NHS organisations introducing similar systems. Further improvements are already planned as the NCIC’s digital transformation continues. This includes Phase 2: extending the EPR system into Emergency Departments and paediatric services, and Phase 3: rolling out the EPR system to outpatient services and theatres. Alongside this, further additional work is underway to digitise historic health records, making it easier for clinicians to access important information quickly and securely.
As well as the new EPR, a pioneering project introduced by community teams has gone from strength to strength. In partnership with health tech company, Healthy.io, the Trust was an early adopter of an app powered by artificial intelligence to help patients’ wound care. It was developed in response to a growing need to identify and treat wounds earlier, reducing pain for patients and freeing up staff time. The app uses advanced AI algorithms to assist clinical staff in scanning, measuring, and monitoring wounds with precision. By uploading wound images to a secure portal, the app enables consistent and accurate assessments that can be reviewed virtually by clinicians. This AI-driven approach ensures faster decision-making and more effective treatment plans, significantly reducing healing times.
Salli Pilcher, Lead Nurse for Community services, said: “It really has been a game changer for patients and staff. A typical wound such as a leg ulcer can be extremely debilitating, causing mobility issues and severe discomfort. These wounds are also time-consuming to manage, which impacts how many patients we can see. We now have 270 staff using the system to care for over 8,000 patients with more than 11,000 wounds. Thanks to this technology, whilst some wounds are really challenging and some Chronic Wounds take much longer to heal, we have improved our general healing rates for over 60% of our patients in 12 weeks.”
Since the app was introduced, the team has won multiple national awards, presented this area of best practice at the Society of Tissue Viability earlier this year and has just been shortlisted for a Nursing Times award later this year.
From sickness to prevention
The lung cancer screening programme at NCIC is a clear example of the shift from treating sickness to prevention, helping to detect lung cancer early when treatment is far more effective. By inviting smokers and ex‑smokers aged 55–74 for a free lung health check and low‑dose CT scan where appropriate, the programme is already saving lives. With thousands already invited and screening now expanding across the region, the programme is ensuring more people can benefit from early detection and timely treatment, reinforcing the NHS commitment to proactive, preventative care.
The lung health screening programme first launched in 2024 in north Cumbria, with a clear ambition: Reach people early, detect disease sooner and change lives across our community.
A year on, the results speak for themselves, not just in numbers, but in the real life impact the programme has had on those who have taken part:
- 12,227 eligible participants invited to take part in the screening programme.
- 7,472 have had a lung health check completed
- 3,886 participants were identified to have a low-dose CT scan
- 40 stage 1 or stage 2 lung cancers have been detected
- Six other cancers detected including breast and renal cancers
Trudie Davies added: “These initiatives are just a selection of the many examples we have of innovations and using technology to improve patient care. Our mission is to be a leader in rural and coastal healthcare and I am very proud of how our teams embrace change and developments.”