New hospital facilities in Whitehaven face opening delay due to admin error

New facilities at West Cumberland Hospital will open later than planned following an administrative error.

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

It was due to open towards the end of July, but that will now be pushed back.

In a Facebook post, North Cumbria Integrated Care said: "The company appointed to provide the necessary building control certificate has experienced administrative delays. This certificate is required before we can move into the new state-of-the-art facilities."

However, the health service claimed this would not cause disruption to patients, saying: "The delay will cause no disruption to patients, as services will continue to be delivered from their existing facilities on the hospital site."

"We had planned to begin moving patients into the new wards from next week."

The hospital in Whitehaven was the first built in England following the creation of the NHS, but its facilities had not been updated since it was opened by the Queen Mother back 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.

North Cumbria Integrated Care Board added that they "remain focused on making sure there is a smooth and safe transition for patients and staff."

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