Hospital bosses get green light for A&E downgrade

HOSPITAL bosses have got their way and will press on with the unpopular plan to downgrade Huddersfield’s A&E.

Funding worth £196.5m was yesterday secured by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock granted the cash, essentially giving HRI chiefs the green light to forge ahead with their plan B.

Their revised plan was announced last summer after the original proposal to demolish HRI was knocked back.

Plan B retains a functioning hospital and a 24-hour, consultant-led A&E, but patients from Huddersfield suffering life-threatening ill health will still be taken to Calderdale, Leeds, Bradford or Wakefield – depending on the condition.

Campaigners have vowed to continue to fight the proposal in a bid to keep a “full A&E” in Huddersfield, with Hands Off HRI (HoHRI), saying it is now very likely to carry out its threat of taking the trust to court.

The trust has vowed to spend £22m of the £197m on the Huddersfield site.

It said the money was being released in this spending period with the cash for Calderdale coming at a later date.

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman welcomed the investment in local health but said he would continue to press for a bit more for Huddersfield.

He said: “It’s not quite what we wanted but I’m going to give it a bit more to see if we can retain proper A&E services in Huddersfield.

“It’s a half-way house (from the original proposal) and it is a lot of money that will stabilise HRI.”

HoHRI said the Trust should now formally withdraw its so-called Final Business Case and consult the public on its revised plan.

Chairman Mike Forster said: “The allocation of £196.5m from the government is to carry out the trust’s furtive plan to transfer all acute and emergency treatment to Halifax, which will be opposed by our campaign. It is time for the trust to come out into the open and be honest