An elaborate and costly sham

I write in response to your front page headline last week about Mid Yorkshire Trusts intention to slash 250 beds at Dewsbury District Hospital. I went to many of the public consultation meetings and Stephen Eames was asked many times if they were going to close Bronte Towers and sell it off for housing. He said that they were not going to do that and that 200 beds were going to be lost across 3 sites. I am utterly astounded how he can assure us during the consultation that Bronte Towers would be safe and now he is changing his mind! -I firmly believe that the plans to sell it off were those of the Mid Yorkshire Trust all along.

Interestingly I watched BBC’s Question Time last Friday in which Jeremy Hunt appeared. There was a discussion about the shortage of housing in the country - how ironic that they have the Health Minister to talk about the shortage of houses! He made a bold statement - and I quote “The NHS is sitting on a lot of land which we could be quicker at disposing of,” says @Jeremy_Hunt. #BBCqt , Friday 22nd Nov 2013.

Although the decision about Dewsbury has been referred back to Jeremy Hunt, the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust appear to be ploughing ahead as if they have been given the decision to carry on regardless thus proving, as many said at the time, that the whole consultation process regarding the improvement of services throughout the region was nothing but an elaborate and expensive sham.

Jan Settle

Harefield Drive

Batley