Councillors condemn closure of hospital beds as Lancaster infirmary battles service stress

Lancaster County Council members have called for a public consultation in response to a proposed plan to close a 24-bed ward at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

The decision, made by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, was made to help cut costs. It is also closing 18 beds at the Furness General Hospital.

During the final quarter of 2025, Royal Lancaster Infirmary declared it had reached level four in its Operations Pressure Escalation Levels (OPEL), which sees the hospital as unable to provide “comprehensive care” to its patients.

Reaching this highest level of alert comes after months of warning from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, detailing the “stress, demand and pressure” that are on the hospital’s services.

The infirmary then cancelled any non-essential meetings to prioritise “patient-facing activities,” to ensure full use of all non-Emergency Department options, and maintain good communication with the public about the service’s status.

Since the end of last year, the OPEL of the Royal Lancaster Infirmary has seen numerous fluctuations between OPEL levels three and four, though still emphasising that de-escalating a level doesn’t indicate an end to the strain faced by the hospital.

As a measure to prevent such stress and oscillations of tensity, the difficult decision was made by the trust to cut 24 beds at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary to save £443,000 in the next financial year, alongside the claim that people’s”care will be better served out of a hospital environment” rather than within what currently stands as a rehabilitation ward.

via Wikimedia Commons

Most Read

Chris has had a devastating update in his surrogacy journey since filming MAFS Australia

New details on TOWIE’S Jordan Wright’s death in Thailand as more revealed on why he was running

University of Warwick and Coventry to merge and become ‘super university’ due to rising costs

Lancaster County councillors have spoken out against this decision earlier this month, and say the further implementation of “virtual beds” is not a viable solution or replacement. These “virtual beds” are supposedly able to allow for patients to receive hospital-level care in the comfort of their own home, with the Trust aiming to increase the number of such beds from 25 to 73 by next month.

Green Lancaster County Councillor Hamish Mills, who chaired the committee meeting, made clear that he values the opinions of the public on this matter, and disagrees with the Trust that the same quality of care can be emulated at home.

Mills goes on to say that he feels, “worried that cuts are being made following pressure from central government and that service provision for people in Lancashire and Lancaster isn’t being paid attention to”.

Scott McLean, Interim Chief Executive at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), said: “In common with many other NHS organisations, we are facing a significant financial challenge that is real and requires us to take a series of immediate actions.

“These include plans to reduce the number of beds at both Furness General Hospital (FGH) and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI). The plans at FGH are underway with beds being closed as it is safe to do so but as the plans at the RLI involve the closure of a whole ward, they are required to follow the NHS Service Change Process which could include public consultation. This decision will be made by the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board in due course.

“Over the past few months, we have worked closely with partners to reduce the number of patients in our hospitals who no longer need hospital care from around 170 per day to around 120 and are making changes internally to make sure we only admit patients who absolutely need to be in hospital. This work allows us to be able to reduce beds – but only at a time where we can do it safely.

“Our hospitals are currently under significant pressure, and I’d like to be clear that we would not close beds if we were experiencing similar pressures at the time we planned to make the changes. All plans are reviewed daily by our Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, and beds will only be closed when they are satisfied that the plans are robust and safe.”

For more of the latest news, guides, gossip, and memes, follow The Lancaster Tab on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.