NHS staff ‘don’t believe consultation was fair’

When given the opportunity to address the panel I read out comments from the National Clinical Advisory Team (NCAT) Report January 2013 who were invited to clinically assure the proposals for the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

I quoted the following two comments from the report:

* 3.2. ‘We have had lots of meetings with patients, politicians and the public over the last one-two years to make sure these plans have their support’.

* 3.21. ‘Already these plans have triggered a loss of medical staff from the Dewsbury site. We think these doctors left because of the down-grading of the services planned for Dewsbury’.

I added that it would appear that their own staff did not believe that this consultation would be a fair one and indeed their actions suggests that they thought it was a ‘done deal’.

Interestingly Matt Shepherd replied to point 3.21 saying one of the A&E consultants resigned because he was finding the commute to Dewsbury from his Bradford Home ‘too difficult’. How ironic when the Trust itself now expects ill patients to make the similar length trek to Pinderfields Hospital, not by car (as the consultant would) but possibly by three different buses.

JAN SETTLE

Jan Settle

Harefield Drive

BATLEY