[holding answer 30 January 2007]: The six primary care trusts in Cumbria and Lancashire are currently carrying out public consultation on the details of the local implementation of the clinical assessment and treatment and support (CATS) services in the two counties. The consultation covers the location of the CATS sites, the impact on the wider health services, how the CATS can fit seamlessly into the pathway from general practitioner referral through to local hospital treatment, and whether the clinical specialties proposed (orthopaedics, rheumatology, ear nose and throat, general surgery, urology and gynaecology) are the most appropriate.
The Queen Victoria site in Morecambe is one of nine potential sites currently under consideration for a CATS service. In total, it is likely that there will be eight CATS sites across the area.