Yvette Cooper MP

 

Schoolgirls stand up for A&E

Two school girls from Darrington have presented local MP Yvette Cooper with a letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron, asking him to halt the closure of Pontefract A&E.

In the letter, Tiegen Pollitt age ten and Emma Nicholson talk about the people they know who have used Pontefract A&E and have enclosed a petition signed by the students and staff at Darrington School.

Yvette Cooper said:

“I was really impressed with Tiegan and Emma's campaign. It shows the strength of feeling about Pontefract A&E that everyone from school pupils to pensioners is speaking out.

The Prime Minister promised a moratorium on A&E closures so I'm taking the letter to Parliament so he can hear Tiegan and Emma's views on why that promise must be kept."

MPs Yvette and Jon Trickett are meeting with the Trust board on Friday to demand an update on what the Trust is doing to find the extra doctors and re-open A&E overnight.

They have also won agreement from the Trust to a public meeting in Pontefract on xx which they are urging people to go to.

Yvette Cooper said; 

"The Trust claimed it was doing everything possible to get enough doctors in place. But it is hard to take them seriously. We offered to help by talking to regional and national NHS bosses to get more staff. But after 3 weeks, we're still waiting for them to tell us what they need and how we can help. They should be pulling out all the stops to get Pontefract A&E re-opened again. I'm glad that they have finally agreed to a public meeting in Pontefract. I hope as many people as possible from across the Five Towns will come and make their views heard."