Closing hospital wards whilst pressure at highest alert level is ‘utter madness’, says MP

South Lakes MP Tim Farron is urging local health bosses not to go ahead with controversial plans to close hospital wards in Morecambe Bay, in light of the NHS declaring it was seeing the highest level of pressure on its services. 

Earlier this week the Royal Lancaster Infirmary had been escalated to Level 4 on the system the NHS uses to grade demand.

Operational Pressures Escalation Level (OPEL) 4 means a hospital is "unable to deliver comprehensive care" and patient safety may be compromised.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust said more than 80 patients were seen in the emergency department on Monday and Tuesday which was "not a safe situation".

Under the proposals, Ward 6 at Westmorland General Hospital, which is used for rehabilitation, and the Abbey View palliative care ward at Furness General Hospital, will be closed. 

Tim said: “At a time when our local NHS is clearly being overwhelmed, it is utter madness that hospital wards in Lancaster, Kendal and Barrow are going to be closed.

“I have enormous sympathies with the Hospitals Trust who are being forced to make cuts due to years of underfunding by the previous Conservative Government, but this is the wrong decision.

“I will be raising these issues directly with the Secretary of State for Health. The Government must be giving support to our local hospitals – not allowing wards to be closed.”