FRONTLINE ambulance staff and union representatives are backing a South Lakes MP's call for an Urgent Care Centre at Kendal's hospital.

Tim Farron believes that such a centre at Westmorland General Hospital would alleviate the A&E 'crisis' at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI).

Paul Carlisle, a North West Ambulance Service emergency medical technician based in Kendal said that he saw doctors and nurses working 'tirelessly' at RLI.

"However, it is now not unusual for ambulances to wait two to three hours, which is totally unacceptable," he said. "We have a system that is broken, and we need to tackle this issue head on. Nobody wants to see ambulances stacked up outside hospitals, least of all patients.

"The time has come to invest in Westmorland General Hospital, and to relieve pressure from an already buckling A&E unit at RLI.”

Michael Oliver, a paramedic and Unison convenor agreed that it had become 'the norm' to see ambulances queuing in A&E.

"We fully support a campaign to see investment made to upgrade Westmorland General Hospital to an Urgent Care Centre available 24hours a day," he said. "This should improve ambulance response times by freeing up local ambulances more quickly and reduce journey times for patients in South Cumbria."

A spokesperson for NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We already commission the Primary Care Assessment Service (PCAS) at Westmorland General Hospital, which is well-used and an integral part of the urgent care network, and is already open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

"PCAS provides care for patients with injuries and ailments, such as strains and sprains, to avoid travelling to A&E unnecessarily. There are currently no plans to develop the service there further."

Dr Craig Melrose, associate medical director for Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) also encouraged patients in South Cumbria to use PCAS.

"The service has access to assessment facilities such as blood tests and x-rays," he said. "Patients can attend without an appointment 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The service treats many patients so helping them to avoid the need to travel to the A&E in Lancaster. Where a patient does require more extensive treatment there is a close working relationship with the Lancaster A&E ensuring care is transferred safely.”