North Cumbria NHS Trust to remain in special measures

A Cumbrian NHS Trust is to remain in special measures, following a recent Care Quality Commission report.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.

The inspection, between 31 March and 2 April this year, found it still "requires improvement".

The Trust has been in special measures since July 2013, when it was found mortality rates were higher than expected.

Particular areas of improvement include:

• Ensuring that medical staffing is sufficient to provide appropriate, timely treatment and review of patients at all times including out of hours

• Ensure that medical staffing is appropriate at all times including medical trainees, long-term locums, middle-grade doctors and consultants

• Ensure that nursing staffing levels and skill mix are appropriate particularly in medical care services

• Improve patient flow throughout both hospitals to ensure patients are cared for on the appropriate ward for their needs and reduce the number of patient bed moves, particularly in the medical division

• Further improving the rate of incident reporting

The Trust says it's been openly and actively addressing these concerns for some time.

It acknowledges that staffing is an area of concern, and that the geography of Cumbria makes patient flow challenging.