Huddersfield Royal Infirmary: Downgrade plan to be reviewed

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust say the proposed changes were prompted by national guidance

Campaigners have been granted permission for a judicial review into a plan to downgrade Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI) and move A&E services.

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust aims to close the HRI, replace it with a smaller 64-bed unit and shift A&E care to Halifax.

The Hands Off HRI group argued the move could put lives at risk and gathered evidence to push for a judicial review.

At the High Court in Leeds, a judge granted campaigners a full hearing.

A venue and date have yet to be fixed.

More on this story and others in West Yorkshire

Under the plans, all emergency acute and high-risk planned care would be transferred to Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax and the 400-bed HRI would be closed and replaced.

People in Huddersfield would have to be taken to Halifax, Wakefield or Barnsley for full emergency treatment, or across the Peak District to Oldham or east Manchester.

Campaigners gathered outside the High Court in Leeds ahead of the decision

The trust said it believed the proposed reconfiguration of hospital services is "the best way to secure safe and sustainable services into the future".

Campaigners pushed for a review on several grounds, including the potential risks arising from "increased travel times" and how financial issues would not be solved by entering "a further and very substantial" Private Finance 2 (PF2) commitment.

They complained the full business plan for the move was "premature and incomplete" as presented.

His Honour Judge Gosnell granted the judicial review on five of the eight counts.

Reacting to the move, Labour MP Thelma Walker called it a "victory for common sense".

The Colne Valley MP said: "This is a really positive step forward, my thanks go to the thousands of people who have campaigned, chipped in money and supported the campaign in any way they could.

"We need to be ready for the next steps in the fight to save our hospital."

Andrew Haigh, chair of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We note the judge's findings today and we will continue to work with our healthcare partners, local communities, scrutiny and campaign groups."