Health workers in neighbouring hospital trusts have slammed a plan which could close Huddersfield’s A&E as poorly designed and dangerous.
Unison surveyed members working for trusts in Leeds, Bradford, Barnsley, Wakefield and Greater Manchester for their thoughts on the Right Care Right Time Right Place (RCRTRP) proposal.
The vast majority (93%) of those surveyed said they did not believe RCRTRP was ‘well planned and coordinated’.
And four-fifths (80%) said they believed the plan would have a ‘negative impact’ on patient care in their area.
Workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, healthcare assistants and support staff, told the union that the plan would leave their already overstretched trusts dangerously understaffed.
A nurse working for Barnsley NHS Trust said: “I think that more people will be using Barnsley Hospital, which is already very busy with no beds. I work on nurse bank and the wards that I usually work on are always short-staffed. Less staff and more patients is a recipe for disaster.”
A midwife working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals said: “There will be increased diversion of emergency care to Leeds Teaching Hospital – services which are already overstretched.”
And a healthcare assistant at Bradford Teaching Hospitals added: “Our trust is completely full to the brim at the moment – it’s dangerous to take any more people.”
The Unison report concluded criticising Greater Huddersfield and Calderdale CCGs (clinical commissioning groups) for failing to adequately consult workers from neighbouring trusts.
It said: “Unison has had no reassurance that consultation has been undertaken to gauge the opinions of staff working on the front line in neighbouring trusts.
“We feel this is a serious error in judgement by the CCGs, as their decision will have a significant impact upon neighbouring areas as patients make choices about where to go for acute care.
“The overwhelming majority (80.03%) of those surveyed in the neighbouring areas believe that their trust would see a negative impact on patient care if the CCGs’ proposal was taken forward.
“We hope that the CCGs will take this into account when making their decision.”
A spokesperson for the CCGs said: “We are aware of the Unison survey, and it will be considered as a response to the formal consultation process.”
Under the RCRTRP proposal Huddersfield Royal Infirmary will be demolished and replaced with a smaller hospital on the adjacent Acre Mills site. It will have an urgent care centre but crucially, no emergency care unit.
Emergency care will be centralised at an expanded Calderdale Royal Hospital, Halifax.
A public consultation on the plan ended on June 24.
