Patients queuing for A&E treatment

A nurse, who spoke to the Reporter Series on condition of anonymity, said the hospital was already struggling to cope with staff shortages.

Last week, demand for hospital services was so high that patients were queuing out the door of the very A&E ward which is facing cuts, she said.

All the while, staff remain uncertain about the future and many are finding jobs in other hospital trusts.

“I don’t honestly know what’s happening to the A&E unit – it all seems to be a bit hush-hush” the nurse said.

“The hospital is just getting busier and busier. I don’t know what’s happening and everybody feels the same.”

Last Thursday, as dozens of people waited for treatment inside the A&E department at Dewsbury hospital, around 12 more had to wait outside because the ward was so busy.

“There were people queuing out the door,” the nurse said.

“The A&E services should not be reduced because people need these services.”

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, which runs Dewsbury and District Hospital, is looking at two options for changes to various services across its sites.

Dewsbury would keep a full A&E department under one option, but under the second would only have an urgent care centre for minor illnesses and injuries.

The Trust is planning a formal consultation on a preferred option, which is due to begin early next year.

“It has changed at the hospital over the last six months,” the nurse said.

“It has got a lot busier, but we have not got as many staff. Every ward is really short-staffed. Every shift you go on there is not the amount of staff there should be.

“There are a lot of people coming and going to different trusts because they are worried about their jobs.

“All I am worried about is whether I am going to have a job or not, and obviously the care of our patients.”