A HOSPITAL worker has attacked plans to introduce a free shuttle bus for visitors, saying staff have been left to make their own way there.
The new service – which starts this week – will take people on evenings and weekends between Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax.
The move is part of a major health shake-up by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust to revamp surgical services at the two hospitals.
Hundreds of health workers are being moved at the end of this month under plans to move planned orthopaedic and general surgery to Halifax and make the Infirmary a centre for complex and emergency cases.
At the moment shuttle buses run throughout the day during the week for staff to use.
But today one auxiliary nurse – who did not wish to be named – said the trust had not considered how staff would travel to their new workplaces at other times of day.
The man, who works at the Halifax hospital, said he was worried about how he would be able to arrive at the Infirmary for shifts starting at 7.15am using public transport.
He said: “There has been no provision for helping staff get to work. We are walking into a nightmare.
“We still don’t know what shifts we will be doing or what arrangements there will be for getting staff there.
“It is going to be a difficult time for us.
“There have been meetings, but there has been little feedback.
“It is just demoralising.”
He said the only bus route from the Halifax hospital would drop workers on Halifax Road at Edgerton, leaving them to face a long walk uphill to the Infirmary.
He is also worried about the cost of parking at the Huddersfield hospital.
He added: “For people who don’t have transport there is no direct link.
“That doesn’t help when you start early or leave late at night.
“They are offering a free link for relatives, but what about the staff?
“Without us, there won’t be anyone there to care for the patients.”
A spokeswoman for the trust said: “There are 20 members of staff being relocated, not hundreds.
“They have all been briefed and none of them have raised concerns.”
