CUMBRIANS are being urged to do their bit to help ease the significant care pressure on the local NHS.

The pressure is being felt across all health and care settings.

Rachel Eastham, matron for emergency care at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) said:

“The public can really help us by doing very simple things, if you need to access our services; be that an appointment or our A&E department, please come to the department alone.

"Unless you need support or are the parent / guardian of a child who requires treatment you should not bring others with you into the hospital. This is because as a health care setting we need to maintain the highest levels of infection prevention standards on our sites including social distancing.

“We have seen people bring whole families with them to A&E, and with the increase in the infection rate in the community the more people who come to our sites unnecessarily the more likely we are to bring the virus in.”

NCIC are also urging everyone to take steps to stop the transmission of Covid-19. The plea comes just two days after the Government lifted all remaining restrictions.

Dr Craig Melrose, clinical director for A&E at NCIC said: “We are seeing an increase in the numbers of patients with COVID in our hospitals. The numbers remain low compared to earlier in the year but we must understand the risk these rises pose.

“Healthcare services remain open but the increase in transmission rates is having a direct effect on how we can deliver them. We are trying our best but please be aware that across our services we are prioritising the sickest people first and for some people this may mean you are waiting longer than we would like to get treatment or support.

“Finally I urge everyone to please be kind to our staff, we are all working incredibly hard and I promise you we are trying our best. It isn’t acceptable to verbally abuse anyone let alone those who are trying to help you.”