PATIENTS from south Cumbria may be asked to travel as far as Blackpool or Blackburn for 'specific expertise' as a hospital trust looks to accelerate the restoration of services.

Health care colleagues working in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System have volunteered to be one of the first of a small number of areas in the country to formally ‘accelerate’ the restoration of services.

The scale up to see and treat many more people means patients may be asked to go where there is specific expertise and capacity to see and treat them quicker and more effectively.

They may be asked if they are comfortable to travel a little bit further or see a different person than usual to help the trust achieve as many appointments for as many people as possible. If this is something they not able to do easily or have reservations about, patients will be able to discuss alternatives.

Being part of this ambitious Government initiative has been hailed as great news for patients in the region, particularly those whose appointments and procedures have been postponed due to the pandemic.

Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS FT, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS FT, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS FT will be working together to make some very big inroads in their collective waiting lists over the next three months.

The NHS has never been a Covid-19 only service during the pandemic. Many services have continued as near to normal as possible.

Over the past months there has been increasing concern about the rising numbers of patients waiting for care and treatment across health and social care settings.

Funding received, as part of the initiative, will go towards driving down waiting lists which have risen to unprecedented levels. The many thousands of people on waiting lists across the Lancashire and South Cumbria region are now a step closer to being seen and receiving the care or treatment they need.

Kevin McGee, Chief Executive of Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS FT and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, and Gold Command of the Hospital Cell said: “We have set ourselves some very ambitious plans as part of the super-charged Government initiative and, whilst there is much more planning and details to emerge, one thing is sure - we are going to do everything within our gift to prioritise and see as many people as possible from our waiting lists in the coming months.

"We’re acutely aware that the alternative is to run the risk that people suffer more harm while they’re waiting for their appointment. I have every faith in the teams across Lancashire and South Cumbria to take this on.

"Together we will do our best to achieve these ambitious targets, but it is a balancing act as we continue to be equally determined to restore our people too.”