Hopes are high that planned developments at a Cumbrian hospital will mean a bright future for its patients.

The second phase of West Cumberland Hospital’s redevelopment was the subject of a virtual event from North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Head of communications services for the trust Kath Hughes was joined by Dean Oliver, director of performance and improvement, as well as Mike Walker, consultant surgeon and Yvonne Fairbairn, associate director of operations.

Mr Walker said: “I see for the first time we have a sustainable plan, we’re making changes and we can build a service that we can be really proud of.”

Mr Walker went on to describe how the staff have been influential in creating what is termed a composite workforce, which means utilising different clinical professions to offer the right treatment for the right person at the right time.

“The composite workforce we have here at the hospital has allowed for these changes to happen. These are local people, who have trained here and choose to work here. A lot of our staff have been here for over 20 years, they care, this is their local hospital and that really matters.”

He said that the key requirement is to move the development on. The second phase will see a £40 million investment and a “huge” upgrade to facilities. It is hoped the development will mean more flexible facilities and accommodation.

NHS bosses revealed the driving forces behind the works, saying that the aim is to build West Cumberland Hospital into the “Elective Care Centre for North Cumbria.” NCIC want to nurture: “A great place to work for our diverse multi-professional health and social care teams and composite workforce to provide seamless patient care and improve patient journeys.”

A responsive treatment base will be created, adapting to modern health care requirements. Mr Walker said: “We need to drive the urgent care more effectively across Allerdale and Copeland.”

In an effort to strengthen NHS services in Cumbria, NCIC has welcomed two cohorts of international recruits from India this week.

Kath Hughes said: “We have secured over 100 international recruits by the end of this year.”