Farron launches campaign to bring heart unit back to Westmorland

12.00.00am GMT Thu 21st Jan 2010

MP Tim Farron has launched a campaign to bring back the heart unit to Westmorland General Hospital following his success in winning agreement for a new cancer unit.

WGHs coronary care unit was closed in 2007, despite overwhelming opposition from the local community and against Mr Farron's concerns that its closure would put the lives of patients in South Lakeland in severe danger

Mr Farron has previously made a formal complaint about the scrutiny committee's decision to close the unit, which he believes ignored evidence that it was unsafe to close Kendal's much-love heart unit.

Tim will be tabling an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling on the board of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust to act upon the huge amount of support for bringing back the heart unit to Westmorland General Hospital.

Commenting Mr Farron said:

"The congestion at the Lancaster Royal Infirmary as a result of the closure, and the fact that one in ten ambulances does not contain a paramedic, is evidence enough that it was unsafe to close our heart unit at Westmorland General Hospital.

"My time spent on a shift with an ambulance crew in late December convinced me of the need to bring back acute services to Westmorland, as did my visit to Lancaster hospital where it was clear that the service, staff and equipment there, while excellent, are no better than what we had at Westmorland."