Councillors have been calling for guarantees that maternity services would not be removed from the West Cumberland Hospital if the alternatives presented more risk.

Rebecca Hanson, a member of the Cumbria Health Scrutiny Committee, quizzed bosses about what would happen if the preferred option is not deemed to be safe and sustainable.

NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says it is committed to option one - keeping maternity services in Whitehaven - provided long-standing recruitment issues can be addressed.

But if not, it has already approved options to move some, or potentially all, births to Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary without the need for further consultation with the Cumbrian public or councillors.

Option two would see consultant-led maternity centralised in Carlisle, leaving only a midwife-led unit in Whitehaven.

If this is not deemed to be safe, option three gives bosses the option to move all births to Carlisle as a last resort.

But Mrs Hanson asked what would happen if neither of these options could be deemed safe, due to the distance women in labour would have to travel to give birth at the Cumberland Infirmary.

CCG bosses have appointed an Independent Review Group (IRG), made up of medical experts from various fields, to oversee the process and evaluate whether the plans agreed are safe and sustainable.

But Mrs Hanson asked: "Suppose they come to a conclusion about option one - that it is not sustainable due to a large number of locum staff, and a fragile service that fails to meet criteria?

"But it also assesses the risk associated with other options and find they are more substantial. How would the decision then be made to preserve option one? That doesn't seem to be an option."

Councillor Ray Gill, who also sits on the scrutiny committee, stressed that it was not just the 40-mile distance between the two hospitals that needed to be factored in, but also the extra distance women south of Whitehaven have to travel before even getting to hospital.

Peter Rooney, chief operating officer at the CCG, said they were mindful that if the current service wasn't available, there could be other risks to women having to travel from Whitehaven.

"There has to be a balance between the two factors," he said.

"The absolute intention was always to retain consultant-led unit at West Cumberland Hospital. We hope this works.

"That is the reason we are engaging with everyone we can find. In the end, we can only do that if it is safe to do so."

Earlier this year the scrutiny committee used its powers to refer the CCG's maternity plans to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has yet to decide whether further investigation is needed.

If approved, the CCG plans to give the existing consultant-led service a further 12 months to see if the issues about its sustainability - largely due to reliance on locum staff - and ultimately safety.

Ultimately Mr Rooney said it would then be for the CCG to decide if it should stay open, based on the evidence - including the findings of the Indepedent Review Group - available at the time.

But Mrs Hanson expressed concerns that the decision would not need to come back before the committee for further scrutiny.

"It would be a substantial variation and we would like the opportunity to scrutinise that," she explained.

Mr Rooney said they would work closely with the committee and adhere to any process set out by the Secretary of State.

Julie Clayton, head of communications and engagement at the CCG, also told the meeting that they hope the co-production work, being carried out alongside the community, will help resolve some of the recruitment problems affecting maternity services.

She said examples could include a community-led scheme to help doctors from overseas, and their families, settle in the local area so that they are more likely to stay long term.