Nurses' union urges Government help after West Yorkshire hospitals declare 'red alerts'

Nurses’ union The Royal College of Nursing has urged the Government to combat the crisis in West Yorkshire A&Es.

The union warned that patients’ lives were being put at risk after nearly half of the county’s hospital trusts, declared ‘red alerts’ in the first week of 2017.

The alerts, signalling a significant fall in performance, were declared by six out of 14 trusts including Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust (MYHT) which runs Dewsbury District Hospital and Wakefield Pinderfields Hospital.

Glenn Turp, Regional Director of RCN Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Our members working on the front line are telling us about the significant pressures they are under hour by hour across the system. Nurses want to provide the best care they can for their patients but they are finding it increasingly difficult.”