Make sure you respond to the Consultation

I hope that as many people as possible will take advantage of the fact that the "Closer to Home" consultation has been extended to 1st February to read the document and respond to it.

We have had a lot more information come out since the consultation started, some good, some still giving cause for concern. But we need to engage with the trust and make sure they are listening to our concerns on issues like the number of beds.

I also hope that people in the community with exertise with numbers will be going through the PCT's figures and financial projections, and indeed those which the Acute Hospitals Trust has put out for the Foundation Trust status bid, very carefully.

The historic debts of the acute trust and the previous PCT were a millstone round the neck of the NHS in Cumbria. It is very important that we keep our hospitals solvent.