NORTH Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) is looking to build an urgent treatment centre at the Cumberland Infirmary as space constraints within the A&E department "make life difficult" for patients and staff. 

The NHS trust has submitted an outline planning application to Cumberland Council to build a new urgent treatment centre in the car park opposite the Carlisle hospital's A&E department due to "a need for the service" and "to deal with increasing waiting times." 

The planning application is the first step in the process of creating more space at the hospital as NCIC seeks to submit a business case to NHS England to receive funding. 

An NCIC spokesperson said: “We have submitted a planning application to expand our A&E department at the Cumberland Infirmary and create a new Urgent Treatment Centre.

"Many of our patients experience long waits in our A&E and we recognise that the space constraints make life difficult for both patients and staff.

READ MORE: Outline permission sought for urgent treatment centre in Carlisle

"The planning application is the first step in realising our ambition to create more space; however we now have to submit a business case to NHS England so no funding has been confirmed.

"We will provide an update once we have submitted our business case and received a decision.”

Ambulance and patient parking will be provided for the new urgent treatment centre.

A separate planning application will be submitted to replace the parking that will be lost by creating the new centre. It will be elsewhere in the hospital grounds.