Report on the Torchlit procession - and Trust response

Hundreds of people joined the ‘We Need West Cumberland Hospital’ group on the protest march from Whitehaven town centre to the hospital on Sunday.

Gathered at the hospital, the campaigners then turned out their torches one by one as each of the services whose future is under consideration by the trust was read out.

Also at the hospital, Whitehaven Theatre of Youth sang a parody of "Let It Go."

The procession follows two rallies last year both attended by large numbers of people (estimated at 4,000 on the second occasion) who wanted to voice their concerns about loss of services to Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary.

And there are current proposals being looked at which could see maternity and children’s wards downgraded – it would mean thousands of people having to travel to access hospital care.

Dr Jeremy Rushmer, medical director of North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, told the Whitehaven News:

“We remain absolutely committed to ensuring that West Cumberland Hospital has a thriving future and continue to work with all partners to ensure we can address longstanding issues and ensure the provision of safe, high quality healthcare services for our patients for many years to come.

“The facts about West Cumberland Hospital speak very clearly for themselves and in the past two years we have seen overall activity increase by seven per cent, this represents over 10,000 more occasions where people have received care in their local hospital.

“This is a trend we want to see continue and is very much our vision for the future, exactly as we have outlined in our draft plans which were published at the end of last year.

“The evidence now also very clearly shows that the important changes made in 2013 to transfer certain high risk surgical patients, in the very best interests of safety, have resulted in more lives from West Cumbria being saved – such vital safety improvements are something which our teams are rightly very proud of.”

He added: “We will continue to be open and transparent with all stakeholders as we move forward on our improvement journey and as we strive to deliver more positive service developments for both our staff and, crucially to give our patients access to the highest possible quality of services that they deserve.”

You can read the full Whitehaven News report at

http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/torchlight-protest-sheds-light-on-demise-of-hospital-services-1.1193515

Hundreds attend Torchlit procession

Hundreds of people attended the torchlit procession from St Nicholas's Gardens in central Whitehaven to West Cumberland Hospital this evening to show their support for retaining services.

When the procession arrived at the hospital, people turned out their torches one by one as the list of services whose future is under consideration was read out.

Whitehaven Theatre of youth sang a parody of "Let it Go" to make the point about how much the hospital is needed.

Reminder: Torchlit procession this evening to support West Cumberland Hospital services

There will be a torchlight procession in Whitehaven tonight (Sunday 15th February 2015) to support the campaign to keep services at West Cumberland Hospital. Meet at St Nicholas's Gardens shortly before 6pm if you would like to support the campaign.

Thirty-three torches will be paraded from St Nicholas Gardens, from 6pm on Sunday, to WCH Organisers are inviting people to join.

The procession has been organised by the “We Need West Cumberland Hospital” campaign group to raise awareness about the issues around the future of services at the hospital.

Once the procession arrives at the hospital, at about 6.45pm, each of the torches will be switched off.

There are proposals being looked at by the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust to strip West Cumberland Hospital of its full maternity service as well as downgrading other services including children’s ward. It would mean thousands of people having to travel to access hospital care.

Torchlit procession to support West Cumberland Hospital

There will be a torchlight procession in Whitehaven this weekend in support of the campaign to keep services at West Cumberland Hospital.

Thirty-three torches will be paraded from St Nicholas Gardens, at 6pm on Sunday, to the hospital at Hensingham. Organisers are inviting people to join.

The procession has been organised by the “We Need West Cumberland Hospital” campaign group to raise awareness about the services which have been lost or are under threat.

Once the procession arrives at the hospital, at about 6.45pm, each of the torches will be switched off.

There are proposals being looked at by the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust to strip West Cumberland Hospital of its full maternity service as well as downgrading other services including children’s ward. It would mean thousands of people having to travel to access hospital care.

In September, the group organised a rally about the future of the hospital which saw 4,000 people gather to voice their concerns. Two months later they held a 24-hour pram relay from Millom to Carlisle, via the West Cumberland Hospital. Over 200 people took part together in the 72-mile relay.

A spokeswoman for North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust said: “The NHS is constantly progressing and it is right that our Trust strives to keep up to date with best clinical practice and medical advances in the interests of patient care and safety.

“As the national Dr Foster report confirmed only this week, more lives are now being saved in our hospitals thanks to the implementation of vital safety changes over the past two years. Following the centralisation of all complex high risk surgery at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle in 2013, the number of deaths of people from West Cumbria associated with emergency surgery has fallen by over 50 per cent, showing that this was absolutely the right decision for our patients.

“The new £90 million West Cumberland Hospital will ensure that the vast majority of people living in West Cumbria will continue receive their healthcare locally. The new hospital will offer a range of services including an emergency floor with A&E, ambulatory care, ITU and critical care, seven state of the art operating theatres and improved diagnostic services.

“We have been very open about the challenges we continue to face and where further improvements are needed. Our draft clinical options appraisal was made public in October 2014 and we have been actively engaging with staff, patients and the wider community to help people understand the issues which still must be solved.”