North Cumbria hospitals short of senior doctors, says report

Some areas of medical cover were described as "inadequate" at the West Cumberland Hospital

A health trust, criticised over its high death rates, is struggling to recruit enough senior medical staff, a watchdog has said.

North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust was one of 11 put into special measures in 2013 after a review found higher-than-expected mortality rates.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said while improvements were being made, serious staffing issues remained.

The trust said it was working hard to tackle "recognised" issues.

Inspectors visited the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and the midwifery-led birthing service at Penrith Community Hospital between 31 March and 2 April.

They found that, despite efforts to recruit more senior doctors, the trust was still short of 50 consultants, with the majority of vacant posts at the West Cumberland Hospital.

'Deep-rooted problems'

The report concluded: "Despite efforts by the trust to improve the numbers of medical consultants employed, there were numerous vacant consultant posts.

"Vacancies were covered by locum doctors in some areas, however the high vacancy rate was having an adverse effect on the timeliness of treatment for patients and meant support for junior doctors was not robust or effective."

There was also a shortage of nurses, especially on medical wards, inspectors found.

The report described some elements of medical care at the West Cumberland Hospital as "inadequate", adding that improvements were required in several other areas.

While inspectors acknowledged that overall progress had been made since a similar visit in 2014, they said the trust would remain in special measures.

Trust chief executive Ann Farrar said: "The CQC has clearly recognised the deep-rooted problems faced by our hospitals, in particular the ongoing fragility of services at West Cumberland, which require NHS system-wide solutions and a clear clinical strategy to be agreed with urgency."

NHS England added: "We are working with partners to address the challenges highlighted in the CQC report to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality hospital services."