A Cumbrian MP is using World Mental Health Day to highlight "deep concerns" about out-of-hours cover in the county.

Tim Farron has submitted an Early Day Motion to the House of Commons, condemning the removal of certain overnight mental health workers.

However NHS bosses have sought to reassure the community, insisting they will not stop providing out-of-hours cover as planned until an alternative is found.

The issue centres around community mental health assessments, to determine whether a person should be detained under the mental health act.

Two doctors are required to assess a patient, one of who must be specially trained under section 12 of the Mental Health Act.

In the past, this was mainly carried out by GPs or police surgeons.

But due to shortages of qualified medics, psychiatrists working for the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) have provided out-of-hours cover for the last seven years, under an informal agreement.

The trust recently gave notice that it was to stop providing the on-call service at nights and on weekends, saying they were concerned about doctors regularly travelling miles across the county to carry out an assessment, having already worked a full shift.

Following discussions with NHS commissioners, who agreed to fund taxis for those being called out, bosses agreed to continue proving the service until January while an alternative was found.

But Mr Farron, who represents South Lakes, claims he has now seen leaked information, revealing that the original plan could still be rolled out from next week.

The CPFT denied this, committing again to the January deadline, adding meetings are still underway to finalise details.

Mr Farron, however, remains concerned, claiming that if it goes ahead, it could have "potentially fatal consequences".

He said: “It’s shameful that on a day where we celebrate the huge advances in treatment of mental health, that vital overnight mental health psychiatrists are being removed in Cumbria," he said.

“Despite promising to delay these plans until the new year, the trust have decided to plough ahead, giving mental health workers, who are already overstretched, just days to prepare for having no overnight cover.

“We still don’t know yet whether there have been any risk assessments on what the impact of these plans may be, or if mental health patients have even been consulted about this imminent change.

“The proposals do not put the people in crisis at its heart and the trust must think again."

But Stephen Eames, chief executive of CPFT, said there are no plans to remove the service "now or ever".

“We can reassure Mr Farron and Cumbria’s communities that patient safety is our utmost priority," he said.

"However we have been clear that the way that section 12 doctors are currently provided in the community out-of-hours is not sustainable or safe. So as a health system with our partners, including the unions, we are looking for a better and more robust way to deliver this service."

Following an inspection, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently told the CPFT it had to improve out-of-hours psychiatry cover at its inpatient units across the county.

The trust therefore carried out a review of the work undertaken by its psychiatrists, resulting it it giving notice that it planned to stop providing the on-call community cover.

However Mr Eames said commissioners have struggled to find enough section 12 doctors to take over.

He explained: "In order to ensure that cover can continue, we have come to an interim arrangement.

"However it is clear that the current system needs to change in order to provide sustainable care both in inpatient units and within the community in the future."