Last updated 20:20, Thursday, 23 October 2008

ALLERDALE will get its own night nursing team as the result of an investment by NHS Cumbria.

An extra £300,000 means that the district will have its own team, led by a nurse with the support of a healthcare assistant, by the end of this year.

Sheila Richardson, a member of NHS Cumbria’s professional executive committee, said: “The introduction of these new community night nursing teams will help us to provide more care for patients, closer to home.

“The increased flexibility which this enhanced service brings will help to prevent patients from having to be admitted to hospital unnecessarily.”

Currently there is only a community nurse covering the areas of Allerdale and Copeland during the night and an ambulance or GP out-of-hours service must respond to any patient not known to the community nursing service.

However, the new community teams will be able to respond to first-time patients.