More operations are to be carried out at Dewsbury and District Hospital.
And that means North Kirklees patients who need planned surgery are less likely to have to travel to Wakefield after capacity at the Dewsbury hospital was increased.
In a shift from previous policy, the Staincliffe-based site has begun carrying out about 20 more planned procedures a week and will host even more in the future.
Most operations are carried out at the larger Pinderfields hospital in Wakefield.
But Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust which runs both hospitals said it was now offering general surgery, plastic surgery and urology procedures at Dewsbury for those that lived in Kirklees.
Dewsbury Hospital is set to become the Trust’s major centre by for elective treatment as £20m is invested to help it treat significantly more patients than at the moment.
The cash will be used to refurbish the Ridings Building and two 34-bed medical wards and a 28-bed surgical ward are planned to be in operation by July 2016.
The plan is part of the controversial re-structure of services that will see Pinderfields become the major emergency centre for North Kirklees and Wakefield.
Dewsbury’s A&E unit will be downgraded with no consultant cover at night.
Adrian Griffiths, Associate Director of Operations for Surgery at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are really proud of this development, which we believe will see services for all patients changed for the better.
“By separating planned care from unplanned care, we will make sure that fewer patients will see their operations cancelled because an emergency has arisen.
“This will also mean patients spend less time in hospital waiting for their operation – which will improve their experience and help them to recover more quickly.
“More people from North Kirklees will have the option of treatment at their nearest hospital – and all patients have a greater choice of hospitals to have their operations.
“Initially, around 20 operations per week will be moved from Pinderfields and Pontefract to Dewsbury. However, in the future, we will be moving significantly more procedures into Dewsbury.”
