Community hospital beds across north and West Cumbria are once again under threat.

Plans unveiled by the area's so-called Success Regime could see in-patient beds removed.

Instead more care would be provided in the community, with the hospitals being turned into "community hubs". Another option would be to focus in-patient beds on a smaller number of sites.

However Sir Neil McKay, the man charged with transforming healthcare across the area, stressed that it is only an option.

At a briefing this morning he told the News & Star: "We haven't made any decisions. What we are saying is we have to think about how community hospitals will fit into a network of care for the future.

"We want to keep people out of hospital so that raises questions about whether you need to have beds in all community hospitals."

It is now 10 years since a high-profile campaign saved the area's nine community hospitals from bed cuts and possible closure.

Today new plans unveiled by the Government-appointed Success Regime put them once again under threat.

The vision, unveiled by chairman Sir Neil in Carlisle today, aims to secure the long term future of healthcare in north, west and east Cumbria, where the main hospitals are currently in special measures and the trusts are facing a combined deficit of over £70m.

Maternity services are also under review. At present four options are still being considered - ranging from retaining a consultant-led unit in West Cumbria to making it midwife-led and booking all higher risk births for delivery in Carlisle.

West Cumbria's children's ward could also be cut to just a 14-hour a day paediatric assessment unit, while the vision also sees more urgent out-of-hours care taking place in Carlisle.

A&E services would be retained in Whitehaven, but there would be more focus on planned surgery.

The Success Regime is also looking at setting up an emergency medical helicopter, based in Whitehaven, providing life-saving, specialist and critical care to remoter, rural areas.

Sir Neil said the aim is to see out all the options and start a meaningful debate with the public about the challenges ahead.