CQC report on West Cumberland Hospital

The Care Quality Commission has released a critical report into the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, known locally as WCH, following an unannounced inspection of the hospital held in May.

The report highlights staffing levels, patient welfare and care and record keeping as areas of concern. The hospital has until mid-July to address the problems.

You can see a TV item on the CQC report into WCH here.


The Acting Director of Nursing for North Cumbria University Hospitals, Chris Platton, responded to the report by accepting that changes have to be made, and made the following statement:

"There can be no excuses for not meeting the expected standards set out in this report and unacceptable that both our staff and patients have historically endured standards of care which fall way below that of which any of us would expect from the NHS for our loved ones.

"The CQC has made a number of recommendations for action in the report which have already been addressed by the Trust since their visit in May.

"An action plan is also in place to ensure delivery of further significant improvements to patient care.

"The report does recognise that the Trust has already made improvements and this drive continues with vigour.

"There is no doubt that we are on a long journey relating to improving the quality of the services we deliver and the feedback, so far, from this inspection shows that we are taking steps in the right direction and beginning to make a difference.”