A Save our A&Es petition gained over four hundred signatures in a couple of hours last Saturday, October 21st, in Halifax.

The petition organisers, Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS campaign group, have now put it online so more people can sign it – here.

Threat to our hospital hasn’t gone away – it’s got worse

Rosemary Hedges, staffing the Halifax street stall to let the public know that the threat to Halifax and Huddersfield A&Es hasn’t gone away, said

“People were crossing the road to come and sign the petition.
When people realised the threat is still hanging over us – that we could lose our A&E along with the complex maternity service and the acute children’s service that depend on it – they were very keen to add their names.”

The twice-delayed Public Consultation on the proposed hospital cuts and changes is now due to happen in the New Year 2016.

Incredibly, Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group are claiming that there has been no public opposition to their proposed hospital cuts – which is demonstrably untrue.

Jane Rendle, Chair of the Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS Campaign, said,

“People were telling us they thought the threat had gone away, after the Clinical Commissioning Group postponed the public consultation about fifteen months ago.
But it hasn’t!
It’s got worse. Now we don’t even know if there’ll be a full A&E in either hospital – and none of the NHS bosses will say.”

Commissioners’ updates show there may be NO full A&E in either Halifax or Huddersfield

Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group’s recent update on the proposed hospital cuts says the “reconfigured” hospital services will now include either a Specialist Emergency Centre or an Emergency Centre, at one of the  hospitals.

A Specialist Emergency Centre is a full, blue light A&E, like we currently have in both Halifax and Huddersfield.

An Emergency Centre is a downgraded A&E, like Dewsbury Hospital ended up with after the hospital cuts and changes in North Kirklees and Wakefield. It does not have the full range of acute and emergency services and so is more like a triage centre where patients are stabilised and then sent to a hospital with full acute and emergency services, like Pinderfields in Wakefield.

Rosemary Hedges said,

“We’re disgusted that the government is deliberately defunding and running down the NHS, to make it easier to privatise it.”