See It. Snap It. Send It
Text your news to 80360, start your message with KENEWS Click here for more... »
Health watchdog upholds review
2:05pm Friday 21st March 2008
CAMPAIGNERS against cuts at Westmorland General Hospital have vowed to keep fighting, after a government health watchdog dismissed their complaints.
The Healthcare Commission was asked to step in and investigate the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust's acute services review last year after concerns mounted about the trust's plans to close the Kendal hospital to acute medical admissions and send patients to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary instead.
But this week, the commission returned its verdict and concluded that the trust had acted "reasonably" in the way it had consulted with the public over the cuts, which began to take place earlier this month with the step-by-step closure of medical unit, Ward 11, and will culminate in the loss of the coronary care unit.
MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron, who is a member of the NHS SOS - Save Our Services group, branded the HC's decision "scandalous". He and fellow campaigners are now considering referring the case to the Health Service Ombudsman, which represents the last stage of the NHS complaints process.
Mr Farron also said the group would be proceeding with legal action against the commission because of the time it had taken to draw its conclusions, and that he was hopeful a court case would result in a judge calling for a halt to any further closures. He urged the public not to lose heart.
Tim Bennett, deputy chief executive for the UHMBT, said: "We are satisfied that the HC has found that we have acted in accordance with the recommended processes for consultation.
"We are due to have a meeting of the acute services review steering group in the next couple of weeks and that will take stock of where we are in terms of meeting the next break points.
"The original intention was that they would be in place by May 1 but until we have got together we don't know if that is possible."
Mr Bennett added that the HC had made recommendations about how the trust should conduct future public consultations and that they had been noted and would be acted upon. One of the recommendations was that the trust offered those it consulted with a no change' option, when presenting them with proposed changes.
He denied claims by some staff and patients that bed shortages were again causing problems across Morecambe Bay.
Your sayYourCumbria
Add your comment
Register for a FREE The Westmorland Gazette account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.
Please register now or sign in below to continue.
In this section
- Get That Weekend Feeling
- Van fails to stop after collision near Ambleside
- Affordable housing campaign takes shelter in Kendal
- Councillors claim thousands in expenses
- Herbicide ban called for
- Kendal hospital ‘victory’ applauded
- Restoration work is underway
- Bay walks guide condemns route change idea
- Elected park authority members debated
- Ospreys deliver a surprise
Essential Links
Sponsored Links
Editor's Choice
Racing project gets national motorsport attention
A CUMBRIAN quest to find future Lewis Hamiltons has been adopted nationally.
Bay walks guide condemns route change idea
A REPORT looking into the possibility of changing the finish point of the ever-popular Morecambe Bay walks has been condemned by the Queen’s Official Guide to the Sands.
Prehistoric walk
The interesting brochure you can obtain from the car park at Foulshaw Moss says that more than several thousand years ago the Witherslack Mosses were part of an extensive wetland in what is now the Lyth Valley and on the flat ground west of the Kent Estuary. The Mosses - Meathop, Foulshaw and Nicols - are raised peat bogs brought about by sphagnum moss that draws up, acidifies, and holds water like a giant sponge, creating waterlogged conditions as it grows. Sphagnum grows from the tip, leaving the lower part to die. Waterlogging halts decay of these dead bits that build up and up over thousands of years, to form deep domed mounds of peat that are raised many feet above the surrounding ground. The Witherslack Mosses have dried out partly as a result of forestry and the invasion of scrub. Over time, drainage and peat cutting led to the loss of more wetland and now only significant fragments remain. Specialised peatbog flora and fauna have been unable to thrive because of the area being too shaded and too dry. Recently conifers have been removed and also masses of rhododendrons have been cleared. Hundreds of peat and plastic dams have been installed to bring about the ‘sponge’ effect of the peat. At Foulshaw, the remains of a 15ft to 16ft wide prehistoric trackway has been uncovered. This is believed to have been constructed in the mid-Bronze Age to allow people to cross the once huge wetland. Trunks of ash and birch were laid side by side and supported on logs. Foulshaw Moss is open to the public. Nichols Moss, a really squelchy one, is only suitable for a hundred yards or so before you encounter pathless very wet moss. It is a delight to stand and look ahead but as there is no walkway do not continue. Pause just on its edge from where you might spot red deer. Meathop is a lovely walk but only for those with a permit from Cumbria Wildlife Trust or if you are a member. The parking is difficult. After the first short grassy track, follow a wider track, left, that winds round right by a pasture and into fine conifer woodland. Beyond this a wide walkway takes you out some distance into the moss, from where you will spot all sorts of interesting lowly plants. To visit Foulshaw Moss, on the A590, it is best to approach the entrance from the direction of Kendal. If coming from the opposite direction continue on past the entrance and make use of the Levens underpass to make a U-turn and approach from the north. This avoids trying to make a right turn across a narrow section of the busy A-road. The entrance is not signposted until you have turned off the road. The entrance turn, a cart track, lies just before a large layby on a narrow section of the A-road. Just beyond the turn, stands a huge sign saying ‘Dual carriageway a mile ahead’. To approach the entrance, drive the dual carriageway at Levens until it ends. Continue a short distance along the two-way road and begin to signal your left turn. Watch out for the large sign ahead. If you reach the layby you have gone too far.
What's On Live Travel YourCumbria
Hot Jobs
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
