Minister's decision could save HRI May 11, 2018 
Proposals put forward by health chiefs which would have seen the end of the present Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and relocation of its Accident and Emergency department to Halifax are being rejected by health minister Jeremy Hunt.In a letter to the councillors chairing the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee of Kirklees Council and Calderdale Council he says: "In short, the proposals are not in the best interests of the people of Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield and I would ask the NHS locally and nationally to reconsider."
Mr Hunt's letter follows advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) which looked into the proposed future arrangements.
It says: "In reaching its judgement, the IRP has observed a wide variety of failings which call into question the benefits of this scheme and the way in which the process has been managed so far.
"The IRP points to failings ranging from a lack of consistency with the original proposals and scepticism about whether proposals of this scale and complexity are actually deliverable."
After careful consideration the IRP was of the view that further action was required before a final decision was made about the future arrangements for hospital and community health services in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.
Mr Hunt said he had asked NHS England and NHS Improvement to work with the Clinical Commissioning Groups and Joint Health Scrutiny Committee and to report back to him on progress.
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