John Stevenson MP for Carlisle will be meeting with Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of Northumbria Foundation Trust on Thursday 14th May.
John has consistently been of the opinion that the key to improving the issues at The Cumberland Infirmary is for the merger to take place. This will then allow the Trust to fully implement improvements and will allow Northumbria to manage our local hospital.
John said ‘The Cumberland Infirmary is an essential part of our local infrastructure. As a City, we must ensure that our hospital is an asset and that there are practical solutions for the current issues that have arisen over a large number of years.
For me, the only practical solution is for our hospital to come out of special measures, allowing the Cumberland Infirmary to merge with Northumbria Foundation Trust. This will ensure a stable management that can build on the improvements that they have already made as interim management.
It is clear that issues within the Cumberland Infirmary cannot be solved overnight, however the merger has to be the first step to ensure stability of management, which will give staff and patients more confidence in what is an essential part of our healthcare service locally.
I will be discussing with Jim my concerns, and I will be discussing any issues that he would like me to raise with Government on behalf of our City’s hospital. I am keen to push hard for a solution for The Cumberland Infirmary so that real progress and improvements can be made and we can see the additional investment in our hospital.’