Hospital considers calling in the Army

The highly-unusual option was one of several raised in a review of the decision by managers of Pontefract hospital to close the A&E department overnight due to problems recruiting doctors.

The controversial move has triggered huge opposition in the town where the casualty unit only opened a year ago following a major refurbishment.

The shutdown, which took effect in November, was raised by Wakefield councillors at a meeting yesterday with senior officials from the Mid Yorkshire hospitals trust.

Councillor Betty Rhodes, chairman of the social care and health overview and scrutiny committee, said use of the Army was “totally, totally unexpected”.

She had been so surprised at the suggestion she had asked the hospital official to repeat it.

The committee was told the NHS trust was still awaiting a reply to see if medically-trained staff could be made available as a temporary measure.

“It does seem desperate but at the moment any measure to open up the A&E between 10pm and 8am would be in the interests of the people of Pontefract and the surrounding area,” she said.

“But in the current situation with our troops abroad and those returning home, I would be amazed if there was any extra capacity.”

A Mid Yorkshire trust spokesman said the review had confirmed the trust had fully considered the options other than whether the Army Medical Services could assist.

“We have made contact with the Army and had early exploratory conversations,” he added.

The Yorkshire Post revealed on Wednesday the trust could plunge £20m into the red by March after independent accountants called in to examine its books found savings programmes were significantly off target.