The new boss of Cumbria’s failing NHS commissioning group hopes it will be back on track by April next year.

NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is a GP-led body which oversees local health services and decides how funding is spent.

Earlier this year it was rated “inadequate”, largely due to poor finances, but avoided being placed into special measures like some troubled authorities. NHS England has now applied formal “directions” setting out exactly what it must do to move out of the bottom ranking.

New chief executive Stephen Childs has been brought in to lead the improvements – and he said that he hopes they will have the “inadequate” rating lifted by April next year.

The formal directions focus on five key areas, including the development of a financial recovery plan that ensures the CCG ends the 2016/17 period with an in-year deficit no greater than £8.5m.

Mr Childs explained: “Across the country there are 25 CCGs deemed to be in difficulty and put into legal directions.

“Of those 25 nationally there are three in the north east and Cumbria. It’s fair to say that in each the challenges are largely due to financial difficulties and their very complex health and social systems. Cumbria has its own unique complexities which makes it very difficult.”

The CCG covers both north Cumbria, where the Carlisle and Whitehaven hospitals remain in special measures, and the south of the county, where the Morecambe Bay Trust has also had high-profile problems.

Mr Childs said said he would like to see the NHS England directions rating lifted quickly. “We are very much focused getting out of them as quickly as possible. I’d be disappointed if we weren’t out by April next year. That’s what we are aiming for,” he said.

Over 2,600 signatures have now been collected as the community continues to show its support for the Save Our Services campaign.

Thousands of people are backing The Whitehaven News’ and community fight to protect your hospital services from changes that too many people believe would be damaging.

With your help, we’re urging the Government-appointed Success Regime to go and rethink its proposals, designed to improve troubled health services in north and West Cumbria.

Opposition is growing to the proposals, which included ending consultant-led maternity care and changes to children’s ward services at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and removal of in-patient beds from community hospitals in Maryport, Wigton and Alston.

As people have signed our petition they have left moving messages for NHS leaders to consider.

Many of them will reflect views expressed strongly at a series of public meetings into the proposals, which continue this month.

Campaigners in the towns where community hospital beds are at risk have been among those urging people to sign our petition and share their views online, using the hashtag #SOSCumbria.

“To say these proposals would not present a risk to patients is incredulous,” another objector wrote.

“It is nothing short of a cost-cutting exercise. While the Success Regime denies this, the opposite is undoubtedly clear to Joe Public. The Cumberland Infirmary cannot cope as it is, never mind any additional burden.’’

And peoples’ motivations for demanding that consultant-led maternity care be maintained at the West Cumberland Hospital - rather than mums in labour having to make the journey along the A595 to Carlisle - are clearly fuelled by lifesaving personal reasons.

A mum wrote: “My two-year-old boy was on life support at West Cumberland then rushed to Newcastle.

“He would not have survived had West Cumberland not had services there.”