Furness General Critical Care Review Completed But No Decision Yet.
A major clinical review into the future of Level 3 critical care at Furness General Hospital (FGH) has been completed, but the future of the service remains undecided.
The North East and Yorkshire Clinical Senate visited Furness General Hospital on September 14 and 15 as part of a review of the temporary arrangements currently in place for patients requiring ongoing Level 3 intensive care.
The purpose of the review was to provide independent clinical recommendations rather than make a final decision. No final decision has been made about the future of ongoing Level 3 critical care at the Barrow hospital.
The review considered a number of issues, including patient outcomes, workforce sustainability, patient transfer arrangements, operational resilience and wider NHS priorities. Members of the Clinical Senate also spoke with hospital staff, colleagues at Royal Lancaster Infirmary, local stakeholders and members of the public.
According to University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, the Senate recognised that critical care in Barrow remains a vital service for the hospital. The panel also acknowledged that progress has been made to strengthen the service, although it considered the current position to remain fragile and said a wider Trust-wide approach was needed to support safe and sustainable care.
Level 3 critical care at Furness General Hospital was temporarily suspended in September 2024 because of difficulties recruiting sufficient experienced medical staff. Patients requiring ongoing Level 3 care are currently stabilised at FGH before being transferred to Royal Lancaster Infirmary or another appropriate provider. Patients requiring Level 1 and Level 2 critical care continue to be treated at Furness General.
Recent figures published by the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board show that 121 patients requiring ongoing Level 3 critical care had been transferred from Furness General after stabilisation up to August 31, 2026. The ICB said none of those patients experienced harm or deterioration because of the transfer.
There has also been progress in efforts to strengthen services at the hospital. This includes the recruitment of two consultant intensivists, development of an enhanced model of care for the sickest patients and work exploring additional support from Defence Medical Services. A working group involving organisations including BAE Systems, NHS England and local representatives has also been established to consider the longer-term future of healthcare services in Furness and Barrow.
The Clinical Senate is now considering the information and evidence gathered during its visit. Its full report is expected to be provided to commissioners at the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board later this year.
The ICB has previously stated that any future changes will need to follow a formal and regulated process. It has also said that no final decisions to permanently change Level 3 care at Furness General are planned before October 2027, allowing further work and clinical evidence to be considered. For now, the review has provided further evidence for the ongoing discussion, but the final future of Level 3 critical care at Furness General Hospital remains open.
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