Out of hours health appointments in Calderdale: Walk-in services unlikely to return to health centre despite thousands signing petition

Serious staff shortages mean it is not feasible to bring a more full-on role to Todmorden Health Centre, councillors heard.

But health and care services in the upper Calder Valley will be looked at in the round, rather than pinned to any one building, said health chiefs.

Previously, Calderdale’s Health and Wellbeing Board had received a 2,350-signature petition asking for members to put pressure on the NHS to open unused suites of rooms as an urgent treatment centre.

Petitioners presented their case instead to Calderdale Council’s Adults, Health and Wellbeing Board.

Accepting assertions from Calderdale Cares Partnership’s chief operating officer, Neil Smurthwaite, that the building was never intended to be an urgent care centre of a minor injuries unit, petitioners nevertheless said it should have a role.

Citing transport difficulty issues patients who need to get to hospital appointments at Halifax or Huddersfield face, space was there to be used.

Services including audiology, physio and podiatry, ultrasound, X-ray, diabetic eye screening and specialist dental services, plus community groups, had used it, they recognised.

However, Hebden Bridge Patient Participation Group (PPG) chair Richard Woodcock said: “When one considers the size of the building and the facilities contained within it, those services do not amount to anything like full, efficient use of the huge amount of unused space.

“Is seems to us that this would be an opportune moment to consider seriously the expansion of services offered at this purpose-built, expensive space.”

Mr Smurthwaite said putting acute services there was cost-prohibitive but introducing more community services is being explored, although with no definite plans as yet.

And he said GP services had increased at the centre, offering more availability than the previous “walk-in”.

Coun Colin Hutchinson (Lab, Skircoat) said: “It’s not so much lack of space now as shortage of staff and operating outreach services like that is very staff heavy,

“You’ve got the travel time for people to go out, set up clinics, take them down and while they’re working remotely, they can’t be supervising a larger team.

“If you’re short on staff, you can get more bang for your buck if they are based at a central place,” he said.