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Accident and Emergency Services in Pontefract Campaign
 



The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Board have announced their final
decision on the future of services at
Pontefract General Infirmary.

Their key announcements are:

A guaranteed 24 hour a day, 7 days a week consultant led accident and emergency (A&E) department
A new ‘clinical decisions unit’ to enable some patients to stay at PGI after being treated in A&E
A new commitment that at least 90% of patients currently visiting PGI will continue to do so
Additional services at PGI including an MRI scanner and new facilities for renal dialysis
A commitment to work on improved transport links between Pontefract and Pinderfields and car parking capacity

These proposals show that the Trust has listened to the concerns of local people, particularly relating to A&E. Last summer, Professor Darzi revealed the Trust’s plan to downgrade A&E to a GP led service. But now we have firm confirmation that the A&E will be consultant led, and supported by additional services.

In addition, the Trust’s assurance that at least 90% of current patient care will stay at Pontefract is more than many of us had hoped for. This is a big achievement for local people who have campaigned so hard over the past few years.

But we still need to keep up the campaign to make sure the Trust keeps its promises and delivers the best service for people on our side of the District. If you would like any more information or would like to join my PGI mailing list, please send your details to coopery@parliament.uk or 2 Wesley Street, Castleford WF10 1AE.

 
Thousands of local people have already joined my
campaign to keep a consultant led A&E at PGI.

Please take time to read my letter, which I address
to each constituent. Everyone needs to be aware of
the plans for Pontefract General Infirmary, and to take part in in the campaign for consultant led Accident and Emergency Services in Pontefract.


February 2006


Dear constituent,

I am writing as I promised to update you on the plans for Pontefract General Infirmary and to ask for your help in the campaign for consultant led Accident and Emergency Services in Pontefract.

The Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust which runs Pontefract, Pinderfields and Dewsbury hospitals has announced that it will decide on the future shape of A&E services at Pontefract by the middle of March as part of their response to a recent independent review of service plans. It is therefore crucial that we demonstrate the strength of local feeling over the next two months.

As you may remember the Government has allocated substantial new hospital investment for this area after extensive lobbying by all the local MPs. This includes a £50 million new hospital building at PGI and a new acute centre of excellence at Pinderfields. I believe this new investment is extremely welcome as it is a vital opportunity to develop new state of the art facilities at both ends of the district and to substantially improve patient care. Without the investment both hospitals are at risk of long, slow decline.

But as MPs we have also argued that Mid Yorkshire Trust must get the detail of the service plans right for the new hospitals, to make sure that patients at this end of the district get the best possible care.

When the proposals for a new hospital were first put forward eight years ago, local health officials and medical staff argued that hospital services needed to change to improve quality and address safety concerns. They proposed that some services should become more specialised and be provided within an acute centre of excellence at Pinderfields, whilst others should be delivered in GP surgeries instead. That is why people already travel to Leeds for many cancer treatments, heart operations or head injuries, and to Pinderfields for burns treatment or acute surgery. It is also why new GP surgeries have opened with facilities for more local treatment and care.

However, Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett and I have argued from the beginning that we also need a strong future for Pontefract General Infirmary. Everyone recognises services need to be modernised to ensure they are safe and high quality. But we also want to know that the majority of patients will still be able to visit PGI for treatment and diagnosis. In particular we want to know that important services like A&E will continue at PGI. We need to be sure that services are being planned around patient care not administrative convenience. Health officials need to consider access and travelling times as well as clinical standards when deciding where services are based.

That is why we have been campaigning from the beginning for improvements to the plans for Pontefract, and why we called for an independent review of all the plans last year. The Review was conducted by national clinical expert, Professor Ara Darzi, and published in the summer. It strongly supported the new hospitals but recommended that improvements should be made to the plans for Pontefract.

In particular, Professor Darzi’s report revealed that local health officials were only planning a GP service instead of A&E at Pontefract. The report clearly recommended that PGI should continue to have a consultant led A&E service. I believe it is vital that the Mid Yorkshire Trust accept Professor Darzi’s recommendation to provide consultant led A&E at PGI. We have campaigned for years to prevent A&E being replaced by a part-time service or nurse-led minor injuries unit. Now national experts have backed local people’s views.

Now we need to make sure the Mid Yorkshire Trust are aware of the strength of local feeling in support of consultant led A&E services. That is why I am circulating copies of petitions which I intend to present to local health officials by the end of February.

I am enclosing a copy of the petition and I would be very grateful if you could ask friends and family to give their support to our campaign by adding their names. Please return any signed petitions to my office.

I will also continue to press the Mid Yorkshire Trust on a range of other issues affecting PGI, including the need to keep some of the existing buildings as well as the new building so that there are more beds and enough capacity for the long term future of services. As a result of our campaigning the Trust have now accepted that their original proposals for just 55 beds were completely inadequate, but I am continuing to argue strongly for improvements.

The Trust have said they will be consulting on other aspects of service plans, so I will keep you in touch with further details as they emerge. I shall also be meeting with patients’ groups, medical staff and community groups. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the meantime with further views or questions about the way forward. And do send back any petitions that you have.

Best wishes

Yvette Cooper MP

 

 

 

I would be very grateful if you could ask friends and family to give their support to our campaign by adding their names. Please return any signed petitions to my office.




 

 

 
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Yvette Cooper MP
Constituency Office: 1 York Street | CASTLEFORD | WF10 1JS
Tel 01977 553388 | e-mail:coopery@parliament.uk