A DYING toddler had to be transferred to a Wakefield hospital because beds were full in Huddersfield and Halifax, it emerged today.
Tiny Charlotte Short had to travel 58 minutes by ambulance to Pinderfields Hospital because there was no room at either Huddersfield Royal Infirmary or Calderdale Royal Hospital.
Her grief-stricken mum Michelle, 20, said: "Charlotte didn't even have the right to die in her own town.
"My parents didn't get there in time to see her before she died. I don't want that to happen to someone else."
Charlotte, aged 16 months, was born with a rare condition affecting her heart and lungs.
Michelle today condemned proposals to move Huddersfield's children's ward to Halifax.
She said: "If this is the situation now, what is it going to be like if they move children's services to Calderdale?"
Charlotte was admitted to HRI at 5.45pm on Tuesday with breathing problems.
Medics said she needed placing on a nebuliser and required her own room.
But the ward's seven isolation cubicles at HRI were full - as were the 12 provided at the Halifax site.
Michelle and her husband Martin, 30, of Manchester Road Linthwaite, were told Charlotte would have to go to Wakefield.
But only Michelle was allowed to travel with her in the ambulance. Martin had to follow behind.
Charlotte died at 2pm the following day. Michelle said: "It took 58 minutes to get to Wakefield but it took my family a lot longer to get there.
"By morning she was dropping. It takes seconds for a baby to die.
"They don't hang on for anyone. Charlotte proved that. It is just so raw."
She praised the care Charlotte had received at both hospitals.
But she feared that if plans go ahead to centralise a long-stay children's ward in Halifax, more families will suffer.
It is still not yet known how many isolation cubicles will be provided at the Halifax site if the changes are agreed.
A spokesman for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust said: "At this time of year there is a nationwide shortage of isolation cubicles needed for children with infections who cannot be treated on a general ward.
"On Tuesday evening all isolation cubicles at the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital were occupied by poorly children who could not be moved.
"For this reason a transfer decision was taken to find the nearest available isolation care."
He said he could not discuss Charlotte's case publicly but offered the family the Trust's deepest sympathies.
He added: "The staff who have treated Charlotte are deeply saddened by her death and remember her with fondness."
Charlotte's funeral will be held at St James Church, Slaithwaite, this Friday, December 2, at noon.
Everyone is invited to attend.
