Plea over A&E downgrade plans

Alison Chambers has called for plans to centralise emergency care at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield to be scrapped.

In an open letter to North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Mrs Chambers said the proposed changes were not in the interest of the “safety and wellbeing” of North Kirklees residents.

“I resent the fact that as I live in Kirklees and we have two hospitals in the area, both are linked with other hospitals out of the area, so we may have to travel miles away to Wakefield or Halifax,” she said.

“Why should residents of Dewsbury, Batley, Mirfield and the Spen Valley district have to travel to an A&E out of their area when we have a very good one on our doorstep?”

Mrs Chambers injured her shoulder while playing football in her garden in Mountain Crescent, Thornhill, with her son two weeks ago.

She was taken to Dewsbury and District Hospital by ambulance.

“When I arrived at A&E, the staff were marvellous, I couldn’t have wished for better care.

“They were all kind and considerate to my needs and kept me informed as to what would be happening and dealt with me quickly and efficiently, I couldn’t praise them high enough,” she said.

The paramedics weren’t able to give Mrs Chambers painkillers and she fears that others may suffer if longer journeys become a reality.

“They couldn’t administer drug relief and I had to endure the journey to Dewsbury’s hospital in a lot of pain,” she said.

“If I’d have had to go to Wakefield, then my journey would have been more stressful on top of my injury.”

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, which runs hospitals in Dewsbury, Wakefield and Pontefract, has said A&E services will still be available at Dewsbury and open 24/7 after the changes were made.

In a statement on its website the trust says: “Patients who have serious or life-threatening emergencies and who are going to hospital by ambulance will be taken directly to the nearest A&E department.

“If you attend the A&E department at Dewsbury but you need to be admitted for specialist treatment then you will be transferred to Pinderfields.”

The Reporter contacted North Kirklees’ CCG for a response, but it declined to comment.