The fight to save community hospital beds from the axe will continue, according to Cumbria County council leader Stewart Young.
He has vowed to battle plans approved by the Success Regime and to find a way of maintaining them.
He believes the hospitals could play a key role in the future of social care in the county.
And he believes the appointment of Stephen Eames as the overall chief of health services in the county will help his campaign.
Mr Young said: “Plans to close community hospital beds will put demand on social care.
“That whole relationship between health and social care is absolutely crucial for us.
“Adult social care is the largest part of our budget by a long way and the pressures are increasing because of the demographics in Cumbria more than a lot of other places and the health service itself is facing massive reductions in funding.
“I had a meeting this week with senior health people in the county what we concluded was that we needed to come up with a Cumbrian solution in the absence of guidance from the government and find a way of working together between health and social care.”
Article from The Times and Star, 7 July 2017