Maryport campaigners are drawing up new plans for the town health services that do not include overnight hospital beds, saying they need to accept the loss and make the best of it for the town.

Maryport Health Alliance said last night it must present a business case to the NHS which would be in the best interests of the people of the area and still be acceptable to health bosses who have said that the beds in Maryport, Alston and Wigton will go.

That, the group said, meant drawing up plans that do not feature in-patient services.

The then Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group voted in March to remove in-patient beds from the community hospitals in Maryport, Wigton and Alston, as proposed by the Government's Success Regime.

The alliance, which brings together health services and community groups, had drawn up two options for the future of the town's health services.

The first, which was then favoured, would have seen beds retained, with an increase in the services offered at the hospital.

The second would have seen the beds lost but a range of new services brought in.

Both called for the town to have control of its own health budget.

Dr John Howarth, deputy chief executive of the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, told the alliance this week that he did not believe option one would be accepted.

Maryport hospital matron, Jen Lambert, also called on the group to accept option two.

"To go back to the uncertainty we have had would be devastating for staff and for the hospital," she said.

"We have all been able to come together to work on a plan for the future. Many others have not been able to do that. Our work here has put Maryport on the map," she said.

There was some anger at the meeting, with Maurice Tate, a member of the hospital's league of friends, saying the town needed to fight for its beds.

Labour county councillor Keith Little warned the alliance would lose public backing if it pursued a proposal that did not include the beds.

And GP and alliance chairman Dr Dan Berkeley said not having beds at the hospital would make his job more difficult.

But he added: "It makes sense that we do the absolute best we can to ensure the best health outcome for people in Maryport and that will not always please everyone."

It was eventually agreed unanimously that the alliance would work on option two and create a population health plan, featuring guaranteed alternatives for people who would usually have been treated as Maryport in patients.

A workshop will be held in September to give the public a chance to add to the report which must be presented to North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group by December.

Meanwhile, Alston campaigners have confirmed they will seek a judicial review over the decision to close community hospital beds.

Maryport campaigners believe that, if successful, that bid could have an impact on the town.