Parts of Dewsbury hospital site could be sold off for housings

Bosses have ambitions to sell off land at the hospital amid plans which will see full A&E, maternity services and 250 beds axed.

Five buildings – the Bronte Tower and the Staincliffe Wing – have been deemed surplus to requirement and will be sold to the highest bidder.

In March, health secretary Jeremy Hunt gave the go-ahead to the Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust’s plans to downgrade services at the hospital.

Dewsbury will become a centre mainly for planned care, with an emergency unit for walking wounded, while a midwife-led birth centre will be set up. Many services will be transferred to Pinderfields in Wakefield.

Figures reveal the trust ran up a deficit of £19.2 million in 2013-14 and it is expected to be £17.1m in the red in 2014-15.

Mid Yorkshire chief executive Stephen Eames said: “Dewsbury and District Hospital is central to our plans for the future delivery of healthcare. We are investing £20 million over the next three years to make it a vibrant hospital, delivering excellent quality services for local people in a modern environment.

“The number of people treated at Dewsbury will rise from around 128,000 now to 134,000 in 2017. The range of surgical specialties available will also increase, and, because more care will be provided as short stay surgery and outpatient care, fewer beds will be needed.

“As part of our investment, the Trust will look to sell some of the older parts of the site including the Bronte Tower and Staincliffe Wing, which are expensive to maintain and will become surplus to requirements.

“There are a number of options under consideration, including residential housing, and we will look to reinvest the revenue from any sale of land back into local health care.”