PLANS to revamp services at a hospital used by thousands of people in the Selby area will be debated at a public meeting next week.

York Community Health Council has called the meeting in Eggborough Village Hall at 7pm on Wednesday, February 11, to discuss a threat to the future of Pontefract General Hospital.

About 18,000 people in an area stretching from Sherburn-in-Elmet and South Milford to Kellington and Eggborough regard it as their "local" hospital. Many others from Selby itself are referred there by their general practitioners.

Wakefield Health Authority, which also runs Pinderfields Hospital, has unveiled proposals to close or reduce the hours of operation of one of its accident and emergency units.

It also intends to shake up day surgery, children's services, elderly care, maternity services, and ear, nose and throat.

Selby district councillor John McCartney said he was "somewhat shocked" to discover that Wakefield Health Authority had not informed York CHC about its proposals.

He claims people will die if the accident and emergency unit at Pontefract is closed, as patients will face long journeys to Pinderfields in Wakefield or to Scunthorpe, Doncaster or York.

Coun McCartney has written to every household in his Eggborough ward and delivered copies of a questionnaire produced by Wakefield CHC.

He has also urged parish councils to lodge objections to the proposals before February 17.

York CHC chairman Alan Hartley, of Barlby, said Wakefield Health Authority had also failed to inform Leeds CHC of the planned shake-up at Pontefract.

"The health authority has a statutory duty to consult with community health councils.

"It has done that by consulting with the Wakefield and Pontefract CHCs, and the fact that they have chosen only to consult them is their prerogative."

But Mr Hartley, who chairs the Northern Regional Council of Community Health Councils, said he would be raising this issue of consultation by health authorities at a national level.

He stated: "Some health authorities go out of their way to consult and others clearly don't."

Referring to Wakefield Health Authority's decision not to consult all of the local CHCs, Mr Hartley said: "It's clearly not very considerate."

He concluded: "I just hope as many members of the public as possible will turn up at next week's meeting or a least make their views known through Coun McCartney or the CHC."

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