After hospitals across north Cumbria were continually criticised for their high death rates, they have employed an extensive number of new doctors and nurses as a result.  The North Cumbria Hospitals Trust was one of the eleven trusts put on to a ‘special measures’ program following the Keogh Review last month.  The review found the trust to have worryingly high death rates, which they have decided to combat by employing more staff.

The trust said that a total of 82 new medical staff have been recruited in their Carlisle and Whitehaven hospitals – including midwives and consultants.  Many of the new staff will be required to work across both of the hospitals: Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.  The Trust said that the posts were difficult to fill as a result of being so remote.

A trust spokeswoman said: “The trust's priority is improving the quality of care for patients, therefore we will not settle for anything other than the best candidate for the posts.”

Running of 2 hospitals to be handed over

The management of the trust’s two hospitals in Carlisle and Whitehaven is currently being handed over to the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.  As an employer of around 2,500 staff at present, the trust aims to continue recruiting from wider fields: including consultants from rheumatology and gynecology.  A spokeswoman from the trust believed that by working so closely with Northumbria Healthcare, the trust would attract an increasing number of senior clinicians from across the country.

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