NHS bosses have agreed to give Morecambe Bay hospital trust an emergency £34m loan for new equipment.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) submitted an application for emergency funding earlier this year.

The loan, which has now been approved by the government, is for a new CT scanner, boiler house renewal, asbestos removal and two theatre upgrades.

The trust, which oversees Furness General Hospital, Westmorland General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, said the funding bid was in response to a 14 per cent growth in demand for radiology services.

CT and MRI scans are especially in demand.

Earlier this month The Westmorland Gazette reported that UHMBT had imposed a recruitment freeze for non-clinical admin staff as the trust continued to attempt to overturn a £60m deficit.

As a result hospital bosses said they have had to make ‘some difficult decisions’.

Other cost-saving measures include the closure of two day case theatres at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

At the time Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock said: “This recruitment freeze, made necessary by the government ordering the trust reduce its spending deficit, may undermine the vital task of gearing up for winter.”

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of UHMBT, said in response to hearing the £34m funding bid had been successful: “This is fantastic news for patients and is also a vote of confidence in our teams across Morecambe Bay.

“It is the result of a lot of hard work, not just now, but over the past five or six years.

“The announcement comes just a few weeks after the government told us that we would be granted funding to begin to plan for new hospital facilities as part of the national Health infrastructure Plan.

“The £34 million is recognition that some of our buildings and facilities need urgent attention.

“It also means we can provide our patients with an environment that better reflects the standard of care that we provide.”

The £34m loan will be available over two years and will be spread over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.

Last month the government announced it would be providing £200m for new diagnostic equipment in a bid to speed up cancer detection times through improved screening processes.

Allocation of the new machines will be based on an assessment of local infrastructure and local population need and the funding will be spread out over two years.