North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust has released a statement to address rumours circulating about the A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven:
“We are absolutely not planning to close the A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital. In fact, we are working very hard to make sure we can maintain services in the face of potential staff shortages. We know there is a national shortage of emergency doctors and there is a risk that we may be unable to provide appropriate overnight cover in the future.
“Like any responsible NHS organisation it is essential that we have a strong business continuity plan in place which we can follow in the event of there not being enough staff in the department on some occasions. Our priority is making sure we can continue to provide a safe service to patients in west Cumbria at all times.”