Accident and Emergency
Our Emergency Departments (ED or A&E) at Pinderfields and Dewsbury Hospitals are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the treatment of serious and potentially life threatening conditions.
Please note: Changes to A&E access
Due to the construction of a temporary building next to our A&E department, there will be some changes to how you access our A&E department due to the A&E car park being closed.
This means that access to A&E will be closed off from the Bar Lane entrance.
Our Emergency Departments are extremely busy at the moment.
Please only attend if you are acutely unwell - in serious or life-threatening situations.
People who are assessed as lower acuity will wait for long periods or be asked to seek alternative support. This includes NHS 111, GP services, including out of hours GP, and your local pharmacy.
Thank you for your support in helping us to look after those who are most in need of our expertise.
Video transcript: A&E departments at Mid Yorkshire NHS are extremely busy.docx[docx] 13KB
About us
Our Emergency Departments (also known as ED or A&E) at Pinderfields and Dewsbury Hospitals are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the treatment of serious and potentially life threatening conditions. These include...
For adults:
- signs of a heart attack
chest pain, pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across the chest - signs of a stroke
face dropping on one side, cannot hold both arms up, difficulty speaking - sudden confusion (delirium)
cannot be sure of own name or age - suicide attempt
by taking something or self-harming - severe difficulty breathing
not being able to get words out, choking or gasping - choking
on liquids or solids right now - heavy bleeding
spraying, pouring or enough to make a puddle - severe injuries
after a serious accident or assault - seizure (fit)
shaking or jerking because of a fit, or unconscious (cannot be woken up) - sudden, rapid swelling
of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue
For children:
- seizure (fit)
shaking or jerking because of a fit, or unconscious (cannot be woken up) - choking
on liquids or solids now - difficulty breathing
making grunting noises or sucking their stomach in under their ribcage - unable to stay awake
cannot keep their eyes open for more than a few seconds - blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, tongue or lips
on brown or black skin, grey or blue palms or soles of the feet - limp and floppy
their head falls to the side, backwards or forwards - heavy bleeding
spraying, pouring or enough to make a puddle - severe injuries
after a serious accident or assault - signs of a stroke
face dropping on one side, cannot hold both arms up, difficulty speaking - sudden rapid swelling
of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue - sudden confusion
agitation, odd behaviour or non-stop crying
British Sign Language (BSL) speakers can make a BSL video call to 999.
Deaf people can use 18000 to contact 999 using text relay.
If it is not a life-threatening emergency and you don’t need immediate medical attention, please consider other options before dialling 999 or coming to the Emergency Department.
Choosing the most appropriate place for care allows ambulance and ED staff to concentrate on people whose lives are at risk, and can potentially save you a long wait.
What happens when I visit the Emergency Department
Please be aware we prioritise the treatment of our patients according to the seriousness of their condition so you may see people who arrived after you being treated before you.
Arriving by ambulance
The ambulance crew will give your details to reception and hand you over to the clinical staff.
Please note, arriving by ambulance does not always mean you'll be seen sooner than if you had walked into A&E.
Walking into A&E
You will need to register when you arrive. You'll be asked a few questions, such as your name, address and why you came to A&E.
If you need help in another language, including British Sign Language (BSL), ask for an interpreter.
If you need help because of a physical or mental disability, let staff know right away.
Getting an assessment ("triage")
Once you've registered, you will have to wait until you're called for your assessment.
All patients are assessed by a doctor or nurse before any treatment takes place. This is called "triage" and helps the team work out what order to see patients in, so they see the most seriously unwell people first.
Treatment, transfer or discharge
What happens next depends on the results of your assessment. If you are seriously unwell you will be seen by an A&E doctor and referred to a specialist unit or admitted to a ward if necessary. If you do not need to be seen in A&E you might be sent to a nearby urgent treatment centre or referred to a GP on-site.
In other cases, you might be asked to make an appointment with your GP surgery to request a GP referral.
Some people will be given a prescription and sent home, with instructions on what to do next.
If you are registered with one, your GP surgery will be contacted afterwards with an update on why you went to A&E and any treatment you got while there.
Who will I see
Patients will have an initial assessment as soon as possible after arrival – this is usually by a nurse.
Following that initial assessment, tests, further assessment by a doctor or specialist nurse, and/or treatment may be advised. Some patients may require admission to hospital – this could be either at Wakefield or Dewsbury according to the patient’s condition. A few patients may need specialist care elsewhere.
Alternatives to the Emergency Department
If you think you may need to go to the emergency department but you’re not sure you can seek help and advice from a number of other places, such as:
- your GP
- your local pharmacist
- NHS 111 service
- NHS walk-in centre
- Urgent Treatment Centre
- your dentist
Self-care
Common ailments and illnesses can be treated at home, such as:
- Hangover
- Grazed knee
- Sore throat
- Cough
These can be helped with medicines and by getting plenty of rest. Self-care is the best choice to treat very minor illnesses and injuries.
If you are unsure about whether your illness requires self-care, please visit NHS 111 online.
Your local Pharmacy
If you aren't feeling well and need advice about:
- Fevers
- Stomach upset
- Diarrheoa
- Running nose
- Painful cough
- Aches and pains
- Headaches
To find your nearest pharmacy and opening times, visit NHS: Find a Pharmacy - NHS.
NHS 111
If you need medical support fast, but it's not a 999 emergency. You will be assessed, given advice and directed straightaway to the local service that can help you best. Calls to NHS 111 are free from landlines and mobile phones.
Depending on the situation, the NHS 111 team can connect you to a nurse, emergency dentist, or even a GP, and can arrange a face-to-face appointment if they think you need one. They can also assess if you need an ambulance and send one immediately, if necessary.
The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
GP Surgery
For symptoms that don’t go away, such as:
- Vomitting
- Ear pain
- Back pain
- Stomach pain
- General health issues
To find your nearest GP surgery and opening times, visit the NHS: Doctor Finder - NHS
If you struggle to make a GP appointment during standard working hours, you can get evening and weekend appointments with a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional by visiting the GP appointments and booking webpage
Urgent Treatment Centre
Urgent Treatment Centres are available for non life-threatening medical issues such as:
- Sprains
- Fractures
- Minor burns
- Skin infection and rashes
- Injuries, cuts and bruises
- Stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea
- High temperature in children and adults
- Mental health concerns
You can visit our Urgent Treatment Centre at Pontefract Hospital. Click here to see what can be treated there.
A&E services are not the only services that can help when you have an urgent health need which isn’t a life-threatening emergency but requires urgent assessment.
The walk-in Centres for Wakefield, Dewsbury and Pontefract are:
- Wakefield — King Street Health Centre, King Street, Wakefield, WF1 2SN.
Open from 10am to 10pm, Monday — Sunday.Advanced practitioners are available to diagnose and treat minor illnesses. They do not see patients under the age of one, or patients with pregnancy related illnesses.
- Pontefract — Urgent Care Centre, Pontefract Hospital, Friarwood Ln, Pontefract WF8 1PL. Open 24 hours, Monday — Sunday.
- Dewsbury — Accident and Emergency, Halifax Rd, Dewsbury WF13 4HS.
Telephone 01924 542695.
Open from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 6pm, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
Advanced practitioners are available to diagnose and treat minor illnesses. They do not see patients under the age of one, or patients with pregnancy related illnesses.
Dewsbury does not offer a routine wound care or re-dressing service.
Choose well
It is importat that you choosing the right service when you’re feeling under the weather. Doing this will ensure that you receive the advice and treatment you require as well as allowing services to be able to see people who may need urgent emergency care.
To learn more about how you can choose well, visit: Together We Can