Hospital Executive Acknowledges Consultation Gaps on Ward Restructuring

A hospital executive has conceded there were “lessons to learn” regarding insufficient consultation on plans that could lead to the closure of hospital wards. Several wards are slated for repurposing or closure as part of a bed restructuring initiative at Furness General Hospital in Barrow, Cumbria. Concerns about the lack of consultation on these plans were voiced by Westmorland and Furness Council’s health scrutiny committee and MP Michelle Scrogham. University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), which operates the hospital, had previously asserted that no consultation was required because it was not reducing services. Aaron Cummins, UHMBT’s chief executive, informed an emergency health scrutiny committee on Wednesday that plans had been shared with stakeholders, but he added: “I think an opportunity like this is better to enable us to have a dialogue.” He also stated that a consultation with affected staff was underway and feedback would “be taken into a decision-making process,” as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Mr. Cummins further explained that the proposed changes aimed to ensure patients received the “right care, in the right place, at the right time.” Councillor Dyan Jones, chair of the committee, noted that the plans had caused “concern” within the community. The day after the meeting, Scrogham urged parliament to consider a debate on the NHS’s duty of listening to local people when making decisions. She informed Lucy Powell, the leader of the house, that “significant changes” were being proposed at the hospital “without any consultation at all.” Powell responded that NHS England should be “listening carefully” to communities when changes were proposed. Mr. Cummins pledged to share the trust’s final proposals with the council.