Maryport Hospital is still up and running and providing an increasing range of care for local people following the closure of overnight beds last month.

As part of a wider plan to deliver more care locally in people’s homes, a new model of care in Maryport is seeing health professionals treating more people locally and supporting people to remain in their own homes.

The team now provide day services from the hospital and use day beds for those who require treatment, but don’t need to stay overnight as well as supporting district nurses when required by providing care in people’s homes. This is helping people avoid admission to an acute hospital, such as West Cumberland Hospital (WCH) or the Cumberland Infirmary (CIC), or to get home sooner.

The hospital has capacity to treat more patients and the number of services provided has been extended. Services such as blood transfusions, dressings, pre and post-operative care and monitoring can all be provided from Maryport. Some of these treatments would previously have been performed in an acute hospital or in the GP surgery, so the model helps to alleviate pressures elsewhere in the health system and reduces the need to travel.

For example, local man Maurice spent a number of weeks at WCH but was keen to go home. He was well enough to leave but still needed IV medication (given by an injection or infusion). Thanks to the new day services at Maryport, Maurice was able to return home and visit Maryport daily for the treatment – meaning he could recover in the comfort of his own home and saving his family the daily drive to Whitehaven.

Another patient, a 94 year old lady from Maryport, required a blood transfusion but didn’t want to travel to Whitehaven. She was able to receive this at Maryport instead. Patients who require blood or iron transfusions are typically already exhausted so providing care more locally is very beneficial.

Jen Riera, Registered General Nurse at Maryport, explained:

“There has been some confusion about what’s happening with the hospital now that the beds are closed but we want to reassure people that it’s still open and we’re still here. As we continue to develop the new model of care we’ll be able to support an increasing number of local people and we’re already starting to see the benefits. We’re putting our current skills to good use by treating more people and learning new skills as the services grows.”

Prof John Howarth, Deputy Chief Executive Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

“It’s great to see the new services being introduced and hearing stories from patients who were able to avoid a hospital stay. For older people, we know that long stays in hospital can lead to worse health outcomes and increase their long-term care needs. So supporting people to stay at home, and providing more care locally is exactly what we need to do.”

More services are being developed at the hospital and it is hoped that in the future assessment beds will be introduced which could be used when patients present at the GP surgery and need further monitoring before deciding on their care. There are also plans to develop the support available for patients at the end of their life. In addition, two beds are also available at Parkside Care Home for those who require an overnight bed but not an acute hospital stay.