24/1/2012 - Health and Well-being Scrutiny committee to discuss University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay

Cumbria's Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee will meet next week to continue its examination of maternity services and governance at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust.

The committee will meet at the County Offices in Kendal on Tuesday 31 January at 10am.

This follows on initial discussions at the last meeting at the end of October last year and at a special meeting of the committee held in December.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust has been asked to provide information and to discuss a range of issues including patient mortality rates, ambulance turnaround times, actions put in place following the 2010 independent Fielding Report into maternity services, and other evidence that the Trust is on track to recover both in the short and long-term.

Representatives of Monitor, the Care Quality Commission, the Nursing Midwifery Council, the Royal College of Nursing and NHS Cumbria will also be attending this meeting, which will also take on board the announced investigation by the Care Quality Commission into the delivery of emergency care services at the Trust.

Separate to this the committee is also working with the North West Ambulance Service to look with at a range of issues including ambulance response times in Cumbria, first responder schemes, replacing the current Alston voluntary ambulance service, and local progress with the new 111 service.  

In addition, the committee will take an update on how breast screening and breast services in North Cumbria are now running following suspension of the service in 2010. The committee’s briefing also includes information about breast cancers services in the Barrow area and progress in implementing improvements to the service there.

Chairman of the committee, county councillor Bill Wearing, said: “As a committee, we will press for the hard evidence that we need to make sure we have safe and effective health provision for our residents in the acute hospitals serving south Cumbria. 

“We will also be carefully examining the effectiveness of ambulance and first responder services in the county and looking for assurances that actions are on track to return breast screening services in the north of the county to acceptable performance levels.”

Media enquiries to communications adviser Chris Little on 01228 226685.