Calderdale and Huddersfield hospitals over 90 per cent full

Health chiefs have closed the birthing centre at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary in order to be able to focus staff on care for cancer patients.

The reaction has been prompted by an “extremely pressurised” situation created by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has seen beds in excess of 90 per cent capacity, a massive change from earlier this year when beds stood at 45 per cent occupancy.

Covid-related stresses are “stretching staff availability”.

Speaking at Kirklees Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel last week, Helen Barker, chief operating officer at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, said they had already enacted their “surge plan” following the continued rise in number of Covid cases in the region. She added that the situation was “challenging” and that the sheer weight of numbers was affecting staff availability.

Ms Barker went on to say that the trust was currently reviewing the delivery of outpatient care and diagnostics, and said that some patients would have to wait longer as a consequence of the health emergency.

She said “We are already in excess of the amount of beds that we had planned in terms of a Covid perspective on top of our normal winter (requirements).

“On top of that we made the decision at the back end of last week that we needed to step out of all our planned care so that we had enough capacity in place to support our emergency and urgent admissions.

“As part of our plan to ensure that we have some capacity to treat cancer patients within Calderdale and Huddersfield, we have closed the birth centre again at Huddersfield.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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