A CAMPAIGN to improve stroke and coronary care at the West Cumberland Hospital has been kickstarted over concerns that travelling to Carlisle for treatment is costing lives.

The West Cumberland Hospital Heart and Stroke Campaign group has requested a meeting with the chief executive of the NHS Trust, Lyn Simpson.

Patients and family members are also being urged to share their own experiences of stroke and coronary care online.

The group was set up last year after Grant Cattanach spoke out about his late wife Pauline, who had suffered a stroke at home in Cleator Moor.

She died at the Cumberland Infirmary five weeks after being taken there for treatment.

Mary Butler, 63, then came forward to share her own experience after suffering a heart attack in 2021.

She was taken to A&E at the West Cumberland Hospital but then had to wait several days for a bed to become available at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle while doubled over in pain.

READ MORE: Patient left waiting in Cumberland Infirmary A&E with chest pain

In a statement, the Trust emphasised that it has a fully-functional A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital, and said that patient outcomes 'have improved' for people across north and west Cumbria since the Cumberland Infirmary opened its heart centre and stroke unit.

At a meeting held on Monday evening, Edwin Dinsdale, deputy mayor of Whitehaven, said the campaign group had the backing of 18 town and parish councils in Copeland.

He also outlined the campaign group’s objectives to improve the current heart and stroke care at the West Cumberland Hospital and prevent residents of west Cumbria having to travel to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle for treatment.

Cllr Dinsdale said: “This is the next step of the campaign. We are asking for video blogs and posts on the impact of the need to travel on normal families and individuals.

“Members of our community are dying. It’s leaving families broken. That’s what we need to get across to the decision-makers.

"Their decisions are having an effect on families in west Cumbria.”

At the meeting, Mr Cattanach raised concerns over the upcoming weekend closures to the A595 at Lowca and how this will affect patients being transferred to Carlisle from Whitehaven.

A spokesperson for the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have a fully functional A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital and we would always recommend if you are self-presenting with symptoms such as chest pain that you go to your nearest A&E department.

“If you then require specialist care and treatment, our teams will look after you and make sure you are in the best place to receive that care which in some circumstances might be at the Cumberland Infirmary.

“Medicine is constantly advancing and it is vital that we continue to keep up with best practice to make sure we are providing high quality services to our communities.

“We know that since we opened The Heart Centre and the Hyper Acute Stroke Unit at the Cumberland Infirmary, our patient outcomes have improved for people across north and west Cumbria.

“We will keep focusing on any improvements to ensure we continue to provide safe, high quality care to all of our patients regardless of where they live.”

People can share their own experiences of stroke and coronary care on the Campaign 4 Copeland Facebook page.

READ MORE: Campaign for coronary and stroke care services at West Cumberland Hospital moves forward