Dewsbury Member of Parliament, Paula Sherriff, has written to the Chief Executive of the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, to express her grave concerns surrounding the Trust’s decision to bring forward the reconfiguration of Dewsbury and District Hospital.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust is planning to speed up a shakeup of services after being warned by the Care Quality Commission over staffing levels.  These changes will see critically injured and ill patients be taken to Pinderfields, while Dewsbury and District Hospital deals with minor ailments.  These changes were planning for spring 2017, but have been brought forward to September of this year.

Paula Sherriff comments, 

“The NHS is currently being placed under immense financial pressure by the Government, and my primary concern remains the welfare of my constituents.  It is not clear yet whether there has been sufficient research to demonstrate the safety of these proposals, and we certainly shouldn’t be talking about bringing forward this change until that time.

“Previously the Trust has not met the 95%, 4 hour wait target for A&E patients in the last 12 months, so I have also asked for information on how this will be alleviated following the reconfiguration.

“This reconfiguration could potentially lead to patients in Dewsbury and the surrounding areas being unable to access vital medical services – I have therefore written to the Chief Executive of the Trust to ask that we work together in the best interests of the all patients of the Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust.”