HEALTH officials struggling with a cash crisis are set to get a £30m helping hand.
The Government has signalled its intention to give the cash to the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Dewsbury District Hospital and two others.
The trust has been placed in special measures by the Department of Health because of its inability to steer its way out of problems.
And it is expected to draw up an action plan to help get its finances back on track.
The cash handout has been criticised by some MPs, who see the Mid Yorkshire Trust getting "special treatment".
But Wakefield MP David Hinchliffe, who chairs the Commons Health Select Committee, said there was no alternative. He said: "The alternative could have been as drastic as closing one of the three hospitals the trust runs.
"If there was any trust that was proposing to close hospitals because of historic debt, which would result in accident and emergency services being removed from a local population, I would be astonished if whatever the politics of the local MPs, there was not some action taken by the Government," added Mr Hinchliffe.
The trust will now have to begin a plan to put right financial management and also deal with concerns over standards of patient care.
