The trust which runs Westmorland General Hospital is set to have more than £200m wiped off its bank balance following emergency Government measures.

The Government's health secretary Matt Hancock recently announced that trusts across the country will see historical debts written off to allow them to concentrate on tackling the coronavirus pandemic that is currently gripping the country.

Government figures show that the University Hospital of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust is one the most debt-ridden in the country, owing £233m to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The trust’s debt is the equivalent of nearly 70 per cent of its turnover.

Statistics published in the Health Service Journal show it is carrying a planned deficit of £38.5m.

According to South Lakes MP Tim Farron, the trust has paid back more than £4m in debts over the past three years.

Mr Farron said: “It should not have taken an international pandemic crisis for this to happen but it is very good news all the same.”

Mr Farron also called for new funding to be spent on protective equipment in hospitals and testing staff for Covid-19.

One hundred and seven trusts across the country have an average of £100m-worth of revenue debt each, with the two trusts with the highest debts reaching a combined total of over £1bn.

Barrow and Furness MP Simon Fell said: “It’s fantastic news for trusts like ours.

“It means that they can focus on future plans without having to service huge levels of debt.

"The money they’ll get as part of the long term plan for the NHS will now be for the NHS - not paying down Gordon Brown’s PFI (Private Finance Initiative) deals.”

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: “We’ve advocated for and support this pragmatic move which will put NHS hospitals, mental health and community services in a stronger position - not just to respond to the immediate challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic, but also in the years ahead.”

At the time of going to print, the University Hospital of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust was still declining to comment on the debt amnesty.