Workington MP Sue Hayman will meet with health secretary Jeremy Hunt to discuss the problems faced by Cockermouth Community Hospital.

She will call for a different model of healthcare to be implemented in West Cumbria, which is more suited to a rural area, and highlight the problems with recruitment and the huge strength of feeling regarding what is available at local hospitals.

She wrote to the MP in June after Cockermouth doctor Simon Desert revealed, in the Times & Star, the challenges faced by staff at the new £11 million hospital on Isel Road.

Mrs Hayman said: “I had not heard anything back and wanted to get a commitment from him before we finished for the summer.

“During health questions in parliament I stood up and said to Mr Hunt I would like to ask him about the letter I had written and what needed to be done to resolve the issues I raised.” 

He agreed to a meeting following the summer recess, although a date is to be confirmed.

She wants Dr Desert to accompany her.

Dr Desert, of Castlegate Surgery, said that “politics had got in the way of health care”, which meant a full service could not be delivered at the flagship site.

The hospital, which opened 16 months ago, is also home to Derwent Surgery and a pharmacy.

Dr Desert said that due to staffing issues, services such as X-ray and ultrasound could not be installed, and large areas of the hospital were as yet unused, including the dental practice.

A full minor injuries service has not been funded and there are fears that GP vacancies will not be filled.

The pharmacy at the new hospital is not profitable.

Mrs Hayman said: “I want to discuss how we can ensure that the problems facing the hospital are considered as part of the success regime so that it best serves my constituents.”

Mrs Hayman met hospitals minister Ben Gummer on Tuesday, with Copeland MP Jamie Reed and Carlisle MP John Stevenson to discuss the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle. 

She said: "I have been asking questions since I was elected, saying you cannot solve the problems we have here without a different model of delivery. 

"I have been looking at how they deliver health care in the Highlands. Because of our rurality and remoteness, normal ways of problem solving do not work for us.

"Mr Gummer agreed to look at innovative modelling for West Cumbria. He did believe it was important local people were listened to regarding how to deliver successful healthcare in the area."

At the meeting with Mr Hunt Mrs Hayman plans to point out her concerns about aspects of the Success Regime.

She said: "I think the success regime will focus on acute care and I do not want Cockermouth to get left out.

"People want services close to home, we also need to take the pressure of the West Cumberland Hospital and Cumberland Infirmary.

She described her meetings with Mr Gummer and Mr Hunt as "a two-pronged attack". 

  • The two GP practices based at Cockermouth's hospital, Derwent and Castlegate surgeries, which are planning to merge following the resignation of two doctors at the Derwent Surgery, have recruited two new GPs and hope to recruit one more.