HOSPITAL patients in parts of Kirklees may go to Barnsley for treatment.
The decision to move hospital services from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to the Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax will mean huge journey times for many patients and their families.
Health chiefs have said they could consider using services in Barnsley.
But the move has angered councillors, who insist Kirklees should have its own excellent services.
With poor public transport serving the area, it has been estimated that return trips to the Calderdale Royal Hospital could take up to three hours.
When health chiefs met at the Galpharm Stadium last week to decide the future of hospital services, it was suggested that people from Kirklees should consider using Barnsley Hospital.
Kevin Holder, Huddersfield South and Central Primary Care Trusts' chief executive, said: "I also have to say that people have the choice to go to alternative hospitals and are increasingly taking up that choice.
"People are saying, `I live in Denby Dale' - but Barnsley is very close by."
Jim Dodds, a Kirklees councillor covering Denby Dale, said: "It is annoying. We have got to go where the best treatment is but the people of Kirklees should have the access to a well-established hospital in their own area and they shouldn't have to rely on a hospital in another area.
"We're not even part of Barnsley and we haven't got any control over what happens there."
He added: "I think the option should be open - but that's not the question. The question is leaving Huddersfield with a less than equipped hospital.
"I'm not saying people couldn't use other hospitals but Huddersfield should have a well-stocked hospital of its own."
He said relatives wanting to visit people at the Calderdale Royal Hospital could face long delays.
"From Clayton West it will take over an hour to get there. To get to Calderdale you're looking at a three-hour return journey."
Clr Dodds added: "I really think the trusts should resign.
"They have lost the confidence of the Huddersfield people
"It's such a betrayal. Forty-odd thousand signatures and they've just ignored it."
