Maryport Community Hospital's League of Friends have vowed to again prepare for a battle.

Health bosses announced last week there would be a review of cottage hospital services in West Cumbria as part of the Success Regime.

Both early suggestions put forward would see Maryport lose its inpatient beds.

Under one suggestion, inpatient facilities could be expanded in Workington and Cockermouth but lost in Maryport and Keswick.

In the other, all cottage hospital inpatient services would be scrapped.

The ideas have been mooted by the west, north and east Cumbria Success Regime Programme Board, which was set up by the Government to tackle deep-rooted problems in the local health service.

They have been made public now ahead of a formal consultation expected in May.

At a meeting of the Maryport League of Friends this week, chairwoman Joan Risely said the league had not had any official notification about the options. 

But members agreed that any attempt to downgrade the hospital would be me with strong resistance.

Member Jen Lowes said: "We will get the banners out again."

Beds at Maryport have already been cut from 16 to eight, the league has been told.

The Success Regime said community hospitals would still play a key part, but it wants to review how it uses them. 

Removing all inpatient beds from cottage hospitals would require significant investment in community care, focused on keeping people out of hospital, it added. 

Cottage hospitals would become community care hubs focusing on outpatient appointments.

League members said they would oppose any further downgrading of the hospital.

They said Maryport people have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the hospital over the years and it belongs to them.

Even just in recent months, the league, with money from the public, has donated new television sets and blood monitoring machines to the hospital.

Members were especially concerned about losing the hospital's core services of terminal care, convalescence and respite care.

People who were dying or who needed to recover did this best in their own area where friends and family could easily visit, members said.