A campaign battling to save Huddersfield’s A&E has urged Huddersfield and Calderdale health chiefs to resign after they failed to win support for their hospital shake-up plan.

#HandsOffHRI has called on Dr Steve Ollerton and Dr Alan Brook – clinical directors of Greater Huddersfield and Calderdale CCGs (clinical commissioning groups) respectively – to quit their posts.

This follows the CCGs’ failure to win majority support for their Right Care Right Time Right Place (RCRTRP) plan which would close Huddersfield’s A&E and centralise emergency care in Halifax.

Dr Ollerton, a Skelmanthorpe GP, had earlier told the Examiner he would be ‘disappointed’ if he failed to convince the public to support RCRTRP.

Now #HandsOffHRI has said the two doctors’ resignation ‘was the only appropriate course of action’ after the results of an official public consultation revealed majority opposition to their plan.

A #HandsOffHRI statement reads: “We have now had time to consider the results of the public consultation and with 80% of Huddersfield residents and a third of Calderdale residents disagreeing with the proposals, it is very clear that residents do not want to see the CCGs’ proposed changes to hospital services implemented.

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“The CCGs have failed to convince us that these plans are safe, cost effective and in our best interests. The HandsoffHRI campaign has never refused to accept any change, we just do not accept these proposals and have repeatedly asked the CCG to go back to the drawing board and they refused to do so.”

And it concludes: “We therefore believe that the only appropriate course of action now would be for Dr Steve Ollerton and Dr Alan Brook to resign from their positions as chair of the Greater Huddersfield and Calderdale CCGs.”

The decision on whether the plan will go ahead is expected on October 20.

A CCGs spokesperson said no decision had been made so far and it would ‘carefully review and consider’ the findings of the public consultation report.

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The CCG spokesperson said: “NHS Calderdale and NHS Greater Huddersfield are taking the time to carefully review and consider the Consultation Report of Findings.

“It is important we understand the detail and depth of what people have said in response to the consultation before developing any recommendations about what the next steps may look like.

“We would like to reassure the public that no decision has been made. The CCGs’ governing bodies will make the decision on the outcome of the consultation and next steps regarding the proposed changes to local hospital and community health services at a meeting in parallel on October 20.

“They will consider our recommendations alongside a range of other information including the Consultation Report of Findings, the responses from the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Healthwatch and an independently produced Equality and Health Inequality Impact Assessment when making their decision.

“Once the decision is known, we will publish the outcome and provide as much information as possible about next steps.”