Frustration is growing in the wake of a wall of silence from the Success Regime over why they are proposing to remove cottage hospital beds.

Here are the questions you want answered by the Success Regime.

We got the answers 12 days, 18 hours and 53 seconds after we asked them.


We sent these to the Success Regime on Wednesday, May 25.

The questions are:

  • Are specific costings available for the likely cost of “no-bed” hospitals, compared with the current hospitals with beds? What are they?


  • What is the cost comparison between a bed in an acute hospital, a bed in a community hospital, and 24-hour stay at home with 24-hour medical attention?


  • How precisely will the integrated care proposal be funded, and in particular, what additional funds will come from the relevant local authorities?


  • Senior staff have stressed the value of visitors to patients in the recovery process, but the increased distance to visit patients and the lack of public transport after 6pm would seriously affect the ability of visitors to support their loved ones. How would the Success Regime suggest overcoming this problem?


  • League of Friends believe the move to home-based patients would create increased demand on ambulance services, which would be the first port of call if a patient is taken ill. Has this been assessed by the Success Regime?


  • Can you confirm the additional number of community beds that will be made available as the result of the “expansion” of hospitals in Workington, Cockermouth and Penrith?
  • Are there meaningful statistics on how well the current city-based “hospital at home” scheme works in Carlisle?
  • What are the expected number of visits during the day and night that a patient can expect when being cared for in their own home?
  • Can the Success Regime provide a list of specific conditions that can be successfully treated at home, compared to a community hospital?
  • Have Success Regime members visited all of the locations mentioned in the proposals to experience transport and operational issues?

The Joint League of Friends, representing all the cottage hospitals in Allerdale, sent 32 questions on March 25. They have received no answers.

A Success Regime spokesman said they were talking to the league.

He added: “We have explained some of their questions were so hypothetical we did not have an answer. Others were very specific and we have said we are trying to get answers.”

Joint league chairwoman Evelin Dugdale described the response as “laughable”.

She said the only response they had was after a meeting when Success Regime member Professor John Underwood approached her.

She said: “He said we had sent too many questions and if we could condense them there would be more chance of an answer.”

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