Additional Bed Capacity

Following is released on behalf of the multi-agency Cumbria Strategic Co-ordination Group

Work will begin today to transform leisure centres into additional NHS bed capacity. The work is being lead locally by agencies in Cumbria working as part of the Local Resilience Forum.

Andrew Slattery, Assistant Chief Constable and Chair of the multi-agency Cumbria Strategic Co-ordination Group, said: “I am pleased to be able to announce that through effective multi-agency working involving Cumbrian authorities and the Ministry of Defence, we are establishing an additional 500 patient beds across the county for Cumbria’s NHS organisations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional beds will be available if our hospitals reach full capacity and beds will be allocated by our NHS colleagues as required. They will not be for general access by the public.