Winter fear as low-staff hospital unit shuts again

The second closure in a fortnight of an urgent treatment centre battling long-standing low staff numbers is "deeply worrying" heading into winter, an MP has said.

Keswick Urgent Treatment Centre, which was also shut for 29 days during the last six months of 2025, remained closed over the weekend due to "staffing shortages".

Labour MP Markus Campbell-Savours said it was "not acceptable" and told BBC Radio Cumbria: "We cannot see an erosion of these services in our rural areas."

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said the small team was "particularly vulnerable to the impact of normal staff absences", but claimed it was "working hard to develop more robust staffing arrangements".

The trust previously said it had reviewed its staffing model and promised a "much more stable service" by May 2026.

The centre closed for two hours on Friday and all of Saturday and Sunday, having also shut at times between 19 and 22 October.

Campbell-Savours said: "We had issues last year, we were told this was about sickness, absence and recruitment and here we are again.

"To see the UTC in a position where the staffing levels just aren't being maintained to a level where they can run a consistent service throughout the year is deeply worrying.

"Keswick is a relatively small town in terms of its population, but it's a hub for people in Cumbria and beyond.

"In holiday seasons the population just balloons, so it often feels that when we have services that are measured against our population, it doesn't really recognise the challenges and the need that we have."

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