A SHORTAGE of emergency doctors could put an A&E department at risk of being unable to provide appropriate overnight cover, an NHS Trust has said.

Recent staffing issues within the A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven have been put down to a national shortage of emergency doctors.  

It is understood that the department had struggled to find cover for a consultant on July 6 and 7.

However, North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) NHS Foundation Trust said it has not yet had to implement its business continuity plan, which includes the possibility that there are not enough staff in the A&E department.

Campaigners from the We Need West Cumberland Hospital Group said they had been concerned about the A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital for some time.

Mahesh Dhebar, who was formerly clinical director of orthopaedics and trauma in Whitehaven, said: “The staffing shortage in A&E departments may be nationwide but what is needed is the will to recruit staff by making the maximum possible effort rather than the minimum necessary.”

The NCIC NHS Foundation Trust has stressed it is “absolutely not planning to close the A&E department at West Cumberland Hospital.”

A spokesperson for the Trust said: “We are working very hard to make sure we can maintain services in the face of potential staff shortages.

“We know there is a national shortage of emergency doctors and there is a risk that we may be unable to provide appropriate overnight cover in the future.

“Like any responsible NHS organisation we have a strong business continuity plan in place which we can follow in the event of there not being enough staff in the department.

“We can confirm we have had staff shortages but we have not yet had to implement our business continuity plans.

“We have business continuity plans for a range of scenarios across the organisation, including the possibility that there are not enough staff in the A&E department.

“The plan we are following has been designed by, and tested by the clinical team. It is there to make sure we can continue to provide safe services to patients in west Cumbria at all times.

“Should we need to enact the plan at any point in the future we would inform the public of our position and what this means.

“Our priority is making sure we can continue to provide a safe service to patients in west Cumbria at all times.

“We have been working hard to recruit senior medical staff to our A&E departments for some time and are actively recruiting on an ongoing basis including attending recruitment fairs in London and Glasgow.

“We have recently successfully recruited to our speciality doctor level posts and are awaiting some of these doctors coming into post.  For the longer term, we have strategies to train more clinical staff to a higher level and support longer term sustainable working patterns.

“This is a very challenging situation which is reflected nationally and we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our patients.

“More broadly, we have a lot of work underway to retain staff working for us.  We have implemented a new exit policy to encourage staff to stay with us by improving their experience; this could be flexible working or development opportunities for example.”