In the summer, we told you about some planned changes to the way in which vascular services will be provided across West Yorkshire following a request from NHS England that we move from three to two arterial hubs. The hubs will provide all elective arterial and acute work as well as high risk Interventional Radiology (IR). Day case (minor surgery), diagnostics and outpatient clinics will remain at the local hospitals.

One hub would remain at Leeds General Infirmary, co-located with the Leeds Major Trauma Centre which serves West Yorkshire. The options for the second centre were Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust (BTHFT) and Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust (CHFT). NHS England asked the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT)* to make a recommendation to NHS England on its preferred option for the other arterial centre and following an options appraisal BTHFT at Bradford Royal Infirmary was selected as the preferred option.

NHS England have been going through their own decision making process which includes further engagement with both staff and the public prior to making a final decision later this year.

As part of their recommendation, WYAAT also agreed that vascular services in West Yorkshire will be delivered as a single service across the whole of West Yorkshire – bringing together the incredible expertise and resources from all five trusts. To support the further development of this single service it was agreed to appoint three key leadership posts: a Clinical Director; a Head of Nursing; and a General Manager.

We are recruiting these roles and the positions of Head of Nursing and General Manager are advertised on NHS Jobs. We would encourage people to apply from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate – more information can be found here:

General Manager - https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/e030be7130f1abe7b30f68e619a32d49/?vac_ref=915386183

Head of Nursing - https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/477c84374168bdddd833001f05f49177/?vac_ref=915386298

We will let you know who has been appointed to these roles and provide more regular updates on the development of the service later this year.

*The West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) brings together NHS trusts delivering acute hospital services from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate to drive forward the best possible care for our patients. It has a committee in common with membership of the Chair and Chief Executive from each of the acute trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate.