"No decisions" made on Furness General Hospital proposed ward changes

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) told members of the health and adults scrutiny committee for Westmorland and Furness Council the proposals are currently undergoing consultation with staff.

Several wards are due to be repurposed or closed as part of a restructuring to beds at the hospital, however in a report the trust says the proposed changes do not mean that services are stopped or reduced, but where they are provided within the hospital and the community may change.

Committee chair councillor Dyan Jones said the proposals had caused ‘concern’ in the community and queried what public and stakeholder engagement had been carried out by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and UHMBT.

Chief Executive of UHMBT Aaron Cummins admitted ‘there’s some lessons to learn’ on what constitutes engagement and added: “Whilst we’ve shared the proposals with stakeholders including the committee, MPs etcetera, I think an opportunity like this is better to enable us to have a dialogue.”

Aaron Cummins, chief executive (Image: Newsquest)

On considering proposed changes, Mr Cummins said: “Our first thing to do is to test with our commissioners, the integrated care board, to see whether there’s a change of process that needs broader public consultation.

“On this occasion that hasn’t been passed in terms of a pass mark.”

A report prepared for the committee says the current plans do not require public consultation ‘at this stage’ as there are no changes or reductions to the provision of services.

It states: “Should that change throughout the colleague consultation process or afterwards, the Trust will ensure it fulfils any relevant responsibilities.”

Mr Cummins added: “And then we talk about substantial changes to the ways our colleagues might work, which triggers a process around consultation of about 30 days and we’re halfway through that.

“Until we’ve completed the consultation and had colleague feedback on these changes, there’s no decisions to make, so these proposals subject to consultation will then be taken into a decision-making process, if the proposals maintain as they currently are.”

Mr Cummins said the ‘driver’ behind the proposed changes to Furness General Hospital is to make sure patients get the ‘right care, in the right place, at the right time’.

According to a report prepared by the trust, the proposed changes ‘strongly support’ NHS plans for patients to receive care at home or closer to home where appropriate with support from nurses, therapists, social carers, volunteers and doctors in the community.

The report says this time last year UHMBT had around 150 patients not meeting medical criteria to reside in hospitals, but this number has been reduced to around 100 in October 2024 due to work with primary care and local authorities.

It adds Parkview Gardens in Barrow which currently provides 16 intermediate care beds will soon be providing 24 beds in an environment to support patients in their rehabilitation.

The report states no members of staff will lose their job or be required to work at another of the trust’s sites as part of the proposals.

The chief executive also told council chamber the proposed changes will provide the hospital with ‘capacity’ for when the population grows with the BAE expansion in Barrow and stated Furness General Hospital has a ‘bright future’.

Speaking the day after the committee meeting, MP for Barrow and Furness Michelle Scrogham called on Parliament to consider a debate on the NHS’s duty of listening to local people when making decisions.

Mrs Scrogham said: “I’m sure the leader of the house will agree that patients, public and staff should be properly consulted when significant changes are being made to local NHS services and the NHS makes better decisions when it properly listens to the views of patients and the public.

“Unfortunately, this has not been the situation in Barrow and Furness recently where significant changes are being proposed at Furness General Hospital without any consultation at all. Please can we have a debate to consider the NHS’s duty to consult and the importance of listening to local people when making these decisions.”

In response, leader of the house, Lucy Powell told Parliament she is ‘sure’ such a debate would be ‘very well attended’.

The Labour MP added: “This is a really important matter for her constituents and for many others and she’s absolutely right to say that NHS England should be listening carefully to the needs of local communities and local community voice when it comes to reorganisations or considering services in any area.”

At the end of the scrutiny meeting on November 27, councillors voted in favour of recommending the following proposals:

The trust will work together with the committee to put better measures in place to communicate future changes to the committee and ultimately the public.

The timeframe for the reconfiguration will be reconsidered to allow additional engagement with the public on the proposals.

The details of the mitigations and plans around changes to ward 5 at Furness General Hospital are highlighted and the equality impact assessment to be made public.

Speaking after the committee meeting, Mr Cummins said: "We were pleased to be able to attend the Health Scrutiny meeting in Barrow on Wednesday and provide clarity to the councillors on the committee about our proposals, and provide reassurance to them about the bright future we envisage for Furness General Hospital.

"It was also good to provide explanation that the plans are in part possible due to the partnership working between the Trust, the council and the Integrated Care Board.

"We were also grateful to them articulating public views on the proposals, which we will be able to feed into our final plans following the current consultation we are undertaking with colleagues within the Trust.

"Once we have completed this consultation we will share our final proposals with the committee and look forward to working with them in the future in the best interests of the people across Westmorland and Furness.

"As the committee heard - the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board are responsible for public engagement and consultation around proposals of major change and will provide us with their view once the proposals are finalised."