Inpatient beds axed at three cottage hospitals

  • Border
Credit: ITV Border

All of the inpatient beds at cottage hospitals in Alston, Maryport and Wigton have been axed by health bosses, following a vote today.

It's the Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Groups' preferred option to cut the number of beds from 133 from 104, which have been reallocated at six community hospitals across Cumbria.

Here's a breakdown of how the decision has affected the number of beds at each of the community hospitals:

  • Alston, -6

  • Maryport, -13

  • Wigton, -19

  • Penrith, -4

  • Brampton, + 1

  • Cockermouth, + 5

  • Keswick, + 4

  • Whitehaven, +1

  • Workington, +2

The Cumbria Clinical Commissioning group says having an average of 16 beds at each of the community hospitals is a safe and manageable number.

It says it would struggle to recruit for more than 16 beds at one hospital and would not be able to reach clinical excellence targets.

The cottage hospitals at Alston, Maryport and Wigton will not shut down.

Following the decision, campaigners from the Maryport cottage hospital told ITV Border that they won't back down and will continue to fight for their beds.