Lancashire hospitals moving further away from Cumbria means now is the time to bring more health services to Kendal – MP

Local MP Tim Farron has made fresh calls for radiotherapy treatment to be brought to Westmorland General Hospital after plans were to announced to move Royal Preston Hospital even further away from Cumbria.

Today, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria announced the locations of two new potential sites for brand new hospitals to replace Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

The proposed site for the replacement of Royal Preston Hospital – which is currently the nearest radiotherapy treatment centre to South Cumbria – is in Farington, an extra seven miles further south.

Meanwhile, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, which is the main acute hospital for patients in the South Lakes, is set to be moved to a site next to Lancaster University - a further six miles down south.

Tim says, “I warmly welcome the investment going into rebuilding our hospitals in Lancaster and Preston. This is something we’ve been pushing for, for many years.

“However the decision for these hospitals to be relocated even further away from Cumbria means patients having to travel even longer journeys to access lifesaving care.

“That’s why now has to surely be the time to bring more services, in particular radiotherapy, to Westmorland General Hospital.

“Rather than shutting more wards, we should be using the space available so that people here in the South Lakes can have treatment closer to home.”