Hospital plans referred to health panel January 25, 2018

Plans which will leave the population of Huddersfield and its dozens of surrounding towns and villages without an Accident and Emergency department are being referred by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to an advisory health panel.

The latest move was revealed in a letter on Thursday January 25, 2018 from the minister to the Calderdale and Kirklees councillors who chair the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee.

In the letter Mr Hunt said he was writing to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) asking them to undertake an initial assessment of the case.

The IRP is an an advisory public body sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health officials have continued to press ahead with their plans despite a massive public outcry involving many thousands of people. The plans would see the end of the present Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and a much smaller planned care facility at the Acre Mills site in Lindley. Health officials have even further cut proposals for planned care provision in Huddersfield by almost half since consultation with the public was carried out.

The plans for hospitals in the Calderdale district and Greater Huddersfield area of Kirklees will see most services moved to the Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax, despite the two combined areas having high populations, the latter slightly higher at near a quarter of a million. Patients will be left totally dependent on the state of the A629Elland by-pass (pictured) if they need to get to hospital in a hurry.

Figures for the replacement planned care facility at Acre Mills at Lindley was clearly shown as 120 beds in the 44-page colour public consultation brochure but was cut to 64 when a report was prepared for a joint meeting of councillors from Kirklees and Calderdale in July last year.

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