Cumbria and Lancashire Joint Health Scrutiny

There will be a meeting of the Cumbria and Lancashire Joint Health Scrutiny committee at 10am on Friday 6th September in Committee Room 2 at the Cumbria County Council offices at County Hall in Kendal.

The purpose of this joint committee is to hold the NHS to account on cross-regional health issues affecting both Cumbria and Lancashire.

The meeting will be open to the public.

The Agenda and part one reports are available on the Cumbria County Council website here, and the main items for consideration are:


8. Renal Dialysis Services in Lancashire and South Cumbria

9. Update on Fragile Services at UHMB (University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay)

10. Reconfiguration of Community Beds within the acute hospitals

11. Stroke Services

Three departments move into new, modern accomodation at WCH

In an important milestone in the redevelopment and improvement of West Cumberland Hospital, three departments - cardiology, breast and vascular services - have moved into new accommodation at the hospital which was officially opened in the presence of MPs Trudy Harrison and Sue Hayman.

Great news for patients in West Cumbria and the staff who will be able to operate in better and more modern facilities.

Let's hope Cumbria gets a share of the extra billion pounds which was announced this week that NHS trusts will be able to spend so that capital programmes for new equipment and better buildings can proceed at pace so we can have more good news like this. (A total of £1.8 billion was announced at the weekend - £800 million for specific new schemes at hospitals around the country, the remainder a general increase in the amount Trusts can spend this year.)

Government changes pension rules to help NHS staff

Today the government has given NHS care a boost by overhauling pension rules for staff, so that they are liberated to treat more people, help reduce waiting times and ensure that our funding is reaching the front line.

 

Key facts:

 

• We are changing pension rules for senior clinicians so that they can take on extra shifts and treat more patients without losing out financially – which will help reduce waiting times.

 

• The new rules will allow top doctors, surgeons, senior nurses and other high-earning clinicians to scale down their pension contributions without losing out on employer contributions.

 

• By getting full flexibility over how much they put in, the new proposals will mean senior staff can run additional clinics, and deliver for more patients nationwide.

 

Why this matters: NHS doctors do extraordinary, life-saving work every day and they should not have to worry about the tax impacts if they choose to go the extra mile by taking on additional work to help patients. These changes will also ensure that the £33.9 billion in NHS funding gets to staff and patients on the front line.