West Cumberland Hospital set to reopen after £130 million investment

ITV Border's Kieran MacFadzean went along to look at the new facility

Whitehaven's revamped West Cumberland Hospital is set to reopen to patients later this month.

The multi-million pound development has seen 40 per cent of the old hospital replaced with new, state-of-the-art facilities including stroke rehabilitation and palliative care.

The hospital was the first built in England following the creation of the NHS, but a lot of it has not been updated since it was opened by the Queen Mother in the 1960s.

The first phase of redevelopment, which saw £90 million pounds of investment, was completed in 2015.

Work on phase two has been underway since 2022 and has seen £40 million invested in updating old equipment which was deemed no longer fit for purpose.

New specialised features include a rehab kitchen for stroke patients, a "challenge path" to simulate outdoor terrains and an automated medication dispensing system.

The redevelopment includes works on four wards including a new children and young people’s ward a stroke and rehabilitation ward.

Healthcare assistant Callum Nicholson said: "We'll be able to work in better environments, we've got better staff facilities, there's more room and we're not all working on top of each other."

Stroke Rehabilitation Ward

  • Purpose-built ward with state-of-the-art equipment

  • Shared outdoor courtyard

  • Access to ‘The Challenge Path’ to mimic outdoor/real-life conditions

  • Upgrade in facilities including a private gym and therapy kitchen

Children and Young People

  • Two rooms specifically designed for children and young adults experiencing emotional, behavioural and mental health challenges

  • Specially designed paediatric oncology room

  • Rooms with en-suite toilet and shower facilities, and a pull-down bed for parents and guardians to use whilst staying with their child

  • Specialist bathing facilities for parents and guardians so they can provide personal care to their loved ones

  • Family kitchen and rest area

Loweswater/Copeland unit

  • Upgrade in both the environment and facilities located on the ground floor

  • An outdoor courtyard space where patients can sit with family or friends away from the ward

  • Copeland Unit - for rehabilitation

  • Additional family room

Elderly Care

  • Six four-bedded bays, eight side rooms with dedicated en-suite facilities in each

  • A quiet room, for families and staff to use as well as a day room for patients

  • The ward will be a dementia-friendly space, with the colours and layout chosen with dementia patients in mind

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