NCIC News
All the latest from the Trust | May 2025
Intro from the Chair
Hello and welcome to our newsletter for foundation trust members and the wider community.
Hello and welcome to our newsletter for foundation trust members and the wider community.
Another month has flown by and we are nearly at the end of May. It was lovely to see staff and patients getting involved in our VE Day celebrations. Well done to you all.
Next month, we see the opening of our new endoscopy building at the Cumberland Infirmary. I am looking forward to seeing the finished build which will mean we can treat more patients and help reduce our waiting lists. I hope the staff who will be occupying the new building enjoy their new surroundings.
Until next time, with best wishes,
Steven Morgan
Chair
Latest NHS data published
The latest data for March and April has been published by NHS England. It shows that we had the highest number of people attending the Urgent Treatment Centres in almost two years. April saw 9,128 patients attend our A&E departments, which is less than in March (9,237). Just over half (55.5%) of patients were seen within the 4 hour standard at our A&E departments and almost all (98.6%) were seen within four hours at our Urgent Treatment Centres.
Although, the size of our waiting lists has increased slightly, there has been a reduction in patients who are waiting the for the longest time to start their treatment. Overall, our cancer performance has decreased slightly, however we are focussing on the cancers that can cause most harm and are pleased to report that 100% of patients with breast or upper GI cancer were treated within the 62 day standard. Our breast cancer team was noted as being the best performing in the country from 124 Trusts with the lung team also performing well coming third nationally.
If you are on our waitlist and no longer need to be, please don’t forget to let us know. Similarly, if you are waiting for treatment and your condition has worsened, please tell us so we can make sure you get the care you need in a timely way.
New image of Community Diagnostic Centre in Workington
Take a look at our new Community Diagnostic Centre in Workington town centre.
This drone image shows how the centre is progressing.
The new CDC will bring:
- Advanced technology
- Shorter wait times
- Expert care
- Easy transport links
Read more about it here.
99% of parents able to stay with their child on wards
Children and young people, and their parents and carers, were happy with the type of wards they stayed on and felt involved in decisions about care and treatment, according to the results of a national survey by the Care Quality Commission. Children and young people, and their parents and carers, who were discharged from the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital between March and May 2024 were surveyed about their experiences.
Overall, 1,228 questionnaires were sent, with 297 responses, a response rate of 24%.
Your Birth, Your Choice
Our maternity and neonatal team, in collaboration with North East and North Cumbria Local Maternity and Neonatal System, took part in a video to explain what choosing NCIC looks like. There are lots of choices for women and families when it comes to giving birth, which can be a bit daunting, so having resources to explain what those options look like gives families the support and assurance that they need.
NCIC launches new era of research and innovation
Nearly 200 NCIC staff and partners packed into the auditorium at the University of Cumbria this month to take part in the first ‘Ascent Cumbria,’ research and innovation symposium.
The event, the brainchild of consultants Chris Rao and Kathie Wong, aimed to capitalise on the opportunities created by the development of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine at the University of Cumbria. The medical school is backed by Imperial College London, which has an international pedigree for research and innovation.
Opening the event, Executive Medical Director Adrian Clements, said: “Creating a research rich environment has to be our aim in north Cumbria because it leads to better care for our population and it attracts the best medical professionals to our region. It means that our clinicians and our patients have better access to the latest research and innovative treatments, and that has to be good for us all.”
Non-executive director attends VE Day service in London
VE Day was marked across NCIC with wards being decorated, tea parties taking place, music and memories.
Our non-executive director, Teresa Griffiths, attended the national VE80 Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London and the concert in the evening. Teresa, who is a member of NCIC's Armed Forces Staff Network, was invited to the service as she is a Trustee for The UK Afghanistan Veterans Community (AVC) charity. Twenty members were given the honour of representing the wider Armed Forces community at the service.
Teresa said: "I was hugely honoured to have been invited to such an important event to recognise the service, sacrifice and bravery of a generation that gave everything and more so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.”
Could you join our patient panel?
Are you compassionate, motivated, and want to create positive change?
We are looking for people who are a patient or carer using Trust services (currently or recently) to join our Patient Panel. The voluntary role is to ensure the voices of patients and carers are at the heart of our services, and will support our patient experience team.
Craig Culley, one of our Patient Panel volunteers, has shared his experience: "I have been on the Patient Panel for 15 years, and during that time I have enjoyed getting to learn about the inner workings of different departments. I've had some great opportunities to get to know different clinical teams and find out how things are done. I have used a number of services as a patient, and know first-hand how important quality health care is, and I like using my knowledge to help others.
“Being a volunteer for the Patient Panel is an opportunity for people to get involved and help improve things for patients. I would encourage anyone who feels passionate about making a difference to volunteer and join the team!”
Find out more and apply: https://bit.ly/PatientPanel
Funds raised for dementia patients in memory of Steven
The family of the late Stephen Devlin, patient experience and involvement officer at NCIC, came to the Cumberland Infirmary to present a cheque for donations collected at his funeral to North Cumbria Hospitals NHS Charity.
Stephen’s partner Andi, and his parents John and Kath, presented £1,065 to Hilda Gwilliams, Interim Chief Nurse alongside members of the patient experience team and some of our specialist dementia nurses - who already have plans to use the funds to benefit patients.
Sylvia Atherton, Patient Experience Manager, said: “Stephen had always worked with patients who had dementia and this is definitely where he would have wanted the money to go. The dementia nurses are planning to create ‘Stephen’s corner’ on the ward where they will have items to help patients reminisce such as historical photos and books about Carlisle.”
Member and Governor update
Governors message: Georgina Craig, Staff Governor
I am as one of the staff governors representing Carlisle and Eden on the Governors Council. I have now been a governor for over 2 years and am trying to increase awareness of the role. In doing so I hope to encourage more members to get involved where they are able.
In my day job, I am a Senior Resuscitation Officer from a nursing background having worked the majority of my career in Critical Care. I am jointly responsible for the organisation and delivery of resuscitation training for all NCIC staff across all disciplines and locations, and face similar challenges to many of those working within our trust.
My involvement in the Governor’s Council includes being Deputy Lead Governor, Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Committee and a member of the Governor’s People Committee. I realise this sounds like a lot but as staff governor I am allocated up to 15 of my working days per year and this is generally enough time to execute the role effectively.
As there will be governor elections coming up later this year I would like to take the opportunity to encourage members, either staff or public, to put themselves forward and be a voice on the Governor’s Council. The role provides a great insight into the inner workings of the Board of Directors and creates a route, via the Non-Executive Directors, to question decisions and hold the Executives to account.
If you have any questions about the role of governor or how you could get involved please email me: georgina.craig@ncic.nhs.uk or for staff please feel free to chat to me over a manikin.
Georgina Craig
Staff governor
Governor questions
Eric Martlew, public governor for Carlisle, asked if the Trust had a policy for getting the elderly out of hospital following recent feedback he received.
The Trust response states: “As you would expect the Trust has a number of policies and procedures in place to ensure we are always acting in the best interests of our patients and involving them, at each stage, in decisions about their ongoing care and treatment. I am disappointed to hear that your friend was being persuaded by staff. Without details it is not possible for me to understand or explain the exact circumstances but I can be confident that the member of staff would be advising your friend based on the information available at the time including the most recent assessments which are designed to ensure patients are safe for discharge. At times, this can be a temporary or permanent discharge/transfer to a care home facility for further rehabilitation and/or care. I can also be confident that, while this conversation was with your friend on their own, the discharge process always includes family where available and unless the patient requests otherwise so this would not be an isolated conversation but a small part of the multi-disciplinary discussion and decision making.
“Where patients do not have family or friends who can advocate for them, and where the patient lacks the capacity to make the particular decision on their own, they would be awarded an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) who support people when they are assessed to lack capacity to make a best interest decision and they do not have family or friends appropriate to consult about the decision. This is done in conjunction with social services and at times our safeguarding team.
“Unfortunately, due to high demand and low capacity, facilities for ongoing care after hospital are not always local to the persons address which we know can add stress and anxiety to an already difficult situation both for the patient and their family. Where possible we always try to accommodate people close to their home unless this is unavoidable due to capacity or the need for specialist input.”
Mr Martlew also asked a question about the Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS) which was recently opened to staff in corporate roles and why he was not made aware of this.
The Trust response said: “All parts of the NHS are being asked to look at headcount reductions, particularly in non- clinical services, to try to bring costs under control. As explained at the last Governors' Council meeting, our Trust faces a particularly challenging budget situation and is having to consider unpalatable decisions.
“I am sorry that you feel that we had not kept you informed about this. In fact the Trust expects that most of the headcount reduction will be achieved through natural turnover and vacancy controls. A small number of colleagues may choose to take advantage of the MARS scheme.”
Become a member
Anyone living in Cumbria over the age of 14 can become a member, you can choose how much or how little you want to be involved – join today.
Concerns or comments
If you have any concerns or comments please contact your governors on the email below. We are here to raise any concerns on your behalf. More information on the members of the Governors’ Council and their role can be found on our website. If you have any comments or suggestions please contact us via the email below: AskYourGovernor@ncic.nhs.uk
Keep right up to date
You can keep right up to date with our news on our public website www.ncic.nhs.uk/news or follow us on Facebook, linked in or ‘X’ @ncicnhs.
Subscribe to receive our monthly news
You can fill in the below form or email communications@ncic.nhs.uk to recieve the news on the last Friday of each month.