Mirfield Mayor’s concerns over Dewsbury and District Hospital plans

Coun Vivien Lees-Hamilton, the Mayor of Mirfield, made the comments during one of the final consultation events on the proposed shake-up of local hospital services.

She expressed concerns about plans to downgrade Dewsbury’s maternity services to a midwife-led unit, meaning that all high risk births would take place at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

“These proposals, I feel, are not safe,” she said.

Coun Lees-Hamilton told hospital bosses about the birth of her son, which she described as “48 hours of hell”.

She said staff would have had to “prise me off the ceiling” to transfer her to Pinderfields’ consultant-led unit after such a length of time.

But Anne Ward, head of midwifery at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, said difficult births would be transferred long before the 48 hours that Coun Lees-Hamilton endured had passed.

The proposals:

Dewsbury’s A&E department would be downgraded, with the most serious cases going to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

Dewsbury would offer midwife-led care for low risk births only, with the majority of births taking place at Pinderfields.

Children’s inpatient services would be moved to Pinderfields.

The consultation closes today (Friday).

Visit www.meetinghthechallenge.co.uk to have your say.