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‘Reopen A&E’ at Pontefract Hospital call as trust boss steps down
Ed Anderson.
Calls for the A&E department at Pontefract hospital to reopen full time have been renewed in the wake of fresh turmoil at a troubled West Yorkshire health trust.
The leader of Wakefield Council Peter Box this week said the news that Ed Anderson, chairman of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, will leave next month should prompt the trust to re-open the A&E department “as soon as possible.”
As reported in the YEP, Mr Anderson’s departure follows that of chief executive Julia Squire last week. Ms Squire left after five years as chief executive – a period which saw new hospitals built in both Wakefield and Pontefract.
An independent review of the trust’s finances which runs hospitals in Wakefield, Pontefract and Dewsbury, had discovered it faces a £20m deficit in 2011-12. Trust bosses have also come under fire after their decision which has seen Pontefract’s A&E department being closed overnight since November.
Coun Peter Box, leader of Wakefield Council said: “It’s good to see that the chairman of the trust board has taken responsibility for his role in the failures which have occurred at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust. This resignation will help the process of restoring public faith in the future of the district’s hospital services.”
He added: “The trust must now listen to what people are saying and make sure the A&E at Pontefract is re-opened as soon as possible. They also need to acknowledge they are publicly-accountable and must work closely with the council as the democratic organisation representing the people of this district.”
Kathryn Riddle, chairman of NHS North of England, said: “Ed Anderson indicated to me last spring that he wished to stand down as chairman of the Mid Yorkshire trust due to his other commitments. I am most grateful to Ed for agreeing to continue in post since then so that a successor could be identified. I also greatly appreciate Ed’s significant contribution to the trust during his time.”
Mr Anderson was appointed to the trust in 2009 and is chairman of Yorkshire Building Society. The trust’s new acting chairman will be David Stone. Last year he retired as chairman of the top-rated Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
MP Yvette Cooper said: “Some of the problems are national as well as local, but we need action from the new chairman and chief executive to honour the promises that were made to local people about our hospital.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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