North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) was one of five trusts placed included in the Intensive Recovery programme this week.
Trudie Davies, interim chief executive, said: ‘We are pleased that some of the deep rooted challenges we have experienced historically in north Cumbria have been recognised nationally and we welcome the support that has been announced.
‘It is clear that we would benefit from additional support and we look forward to understanding what we will receive to accelerate the pace of change. We know that NHS England has confidence in this leadership team and this new intensive support is a once in a lifetime opportunity to embrace that change to deliver the best possible healthcare for the people of north Cumbria.'
The £4m investment is to alleviate pressure on urgent and emergency care services, including overcrowding in the emergency department, delays in getting patients to the right place for their care and an increasing demand associated with an ageing population.
Measures being taken include:
- more staffing for the new urgent treatment centre in Carlisle that will allow for the centre to be fully opened to see patients with minor injuries
- increasing doctors working in acute medicine so more decisions can be made about patients at evenings and weekends in both Carlisle and Whitehaven
- expanding same day emergency care (SDEC) facility at the Cumberland Infirmary so that patients can be treated on the day without a hospital admission
- making the new SDEC for frail, elderly patients at West Cumberland Hospital permanent and opening one at the Cumberland Infirmary
- creation of a medical workforce recruitment team to be less reliant on high-cost temporary agency and locum staff.
NCIC currently ranks 130th out of 134 acute trusts in the NHS Oversight Framework league tables.
