Josh MacAlister MP has visited West Cumberland Hospital to back ambitious plans to improve urgent and emergency care for patients across West Cumbria.
During the visit, Josh met frontline NHS staff and thanked them for their hard work, as well as seeing first-hand how new investment will support faster treatment and reduce pressure on A&E services.
He visited the Copeland Unit, where a new frailty hub is being piloted – helping older patients receive treatment on the same day without needing to be admitted to hospital. Early results show around three quarters of patients are avoiding admission. 
Josh also visited the hospital’s Same Day Emergency Care unit, where plans are in place to extend opening hours and expand staffing – meaning more patients can be assessed, treated and discharged on the same day, including into the evening and at weekends. 
These improvements are part of wider plans to transform urgent and emergency care locally – reducing overcrowding, cutting waiting times and helping patients get the right care more quickly. 
Josh MacAlister MP said:
“It was fantastic to visit West Cumberland Hospital again and see first-hand the work underway to improve urgent and emergency care for local people.
“I want to thank staff for everything they are doing in challenging circumstances – there is real progress being made.
“What’s exciting about these plans is that they are practical changes that will make a real difference: helping people get treated more quickly, avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions, and easing pressure on A&E.
“The new frailty service is a great example of that – already helping patients stay out of hospital and get the care they need sooner.
“I’ve been pushing for more support to help our local NHS go further and faster, and this investment will help do exactly that.
“I’ll keep working with the Trust and Ministers to make sure people across West Cumbria see the improvements they deserve.”
Dr Adrian Clements, Medical Director for North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, said:
““We welcomed the opportunity to thank Josh for his ongoing support and to introduce him to some of our teams working in urgent and emergency care to talk about our £4m investment.
“We are putting the resources in place to improve access to urgent and emergency care so that we can see more patients in a timely way, in the right clinical setting. Our staff at West Cumberland Hospital always show great passion and pride in their hospital and it is clear what the investment will mean to them as they work to expand and grow their services.
“We want our staff to feel supported to deliver the very best care to our patients and we welcome any opportunity to work together to make the improvements we all want for north Cumbria.”
The visit followed news that the Trust will receive expert help from NHS England to improve further and faster to ensure patients are receiving timely and effective care. During the visit, Josh met with Trust leaders to discuss their improvement plans and further investment proposals. Josh committed to working with the trust’s leadership to support the improvement journey and secure the funding needed for the hospital.
Josh MacAlister MP 