Sick and injured children in North Kirklees are to be treated in a new hospital unit.

Dewsbury and District Hospital has opened its new Children's Assessment Unit which is now available 24 hours a day.

But those hours could be cut by half in less than three years time as hospital services are moved into the community or centralised in Wakefield.

When in-patient care is centralised in Pinderfields, the Children's Assessment Unit in Dewsbury will be tailored to demand which is estimated to be around 12 hours a day.

Hospital chiefs say the eight-bed-unit, next to A&E, will be able treat youngsters faster and get them home as soon as possible.

The new facility, which is taking over from Ward 7, will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week until community services are fully developed to support children and young people outside of hospital, anticipated to be in 2016/17.

Ward 7 will remain open primarily as an outpatient and day care unit but will retain ten overflow beds.

Stephen Eames, Chief Executive of The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This unit offers a real improvement for young patients and families in North Kirklees.

“It will help us see and treat sick or injured children quicker meaning more children will be able to go home without needing to stay overnight in hospital.

“For those who need further observation and treatment, the vast majority of them will get the care they need locally in Dewsbury.

“For the small number of children who might need to be in hospital for a longer stay, they will be transferred to Pinderfields Hospital where we will eventually be centralising urgent and complex care for all our patients.”

Dr Karen Stone, Consultant Paediatrician at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Good quality and safe care for children is what is at the heart of this development.

“From our experience at Pinderfields Hospital, we know that an assessment unit next to A&E enables children to be assessed and treated more quickly.”

Dr David Kelly, GP and Chair of the North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are confident that this model of care is the right one for our patients.

“While it moves us a step closer to centralising children’s inpatient services in Wakefield, we made a commitment that no beds would be taken out of the hospital until community services were developed sufficiently to manage patients at home more effectively. We are pleased to see that the Trust has honoured this commitment made during consultation.”