AIREDALE Hospital is “overburdened” and “operating at full capacity”, say health trust bosses.

And they have highlighted the pressures it will face to deal with a rising population in the area.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has outlined the impact on its system that new housing developments can bring in a response to a proposed new housing development in Denholme.

It highlights the strained position the trust is already in and how new, large-scale housing developments could impact services in the future.

The plans, to build 41 homes on the former Foreside Mill site off Halifax Road, were submitted by Stirling Investment Properties earlier this year, and Bradford Council has yet to make a decision on the scheme.

The trust, which runs Airedale Hospital at Steeton, has written to the council urging it to include money for local hospital beds in any conditions if it approves the homes.

Under planning laws, councils can require developers to sign a ‘106 agreement’ which means they contribute to local services such as schools and leisure facilities based on the size and impact of the development.

In its response to the application, the trust is asking for a contribution of at least £3,724 to help provide services that could go towards coping with the increase in the local population. It is not, however, objecting to the plans.

The trust’s response to the application says: “The number of emergency admissions is currently at an all-time high.

“The trust’s hospital is now at full capacity and there are limited opportunities for it to further improve hospital capacity utilisation.

“There are not sufficient resources or space within the existing facilities to accommodate sudden population growth created by the development without the quality of the service dropping.”

It points out that hospitals should have a maximum bed occupancy of 85 per cent, and when hospitals run above this level “patients are at more risk of delays to their treatment, sub-optimal care and being put at significant risk”.

The trust says recent figures show it operated above this most of the time. It adds: “This demonstrates that current occupancy levels are highly unsatisfactory, and the problem will be compounded by an increase in the population which does not coincide with an increase in the number of bed spaces available at the hospital. This is the inevitable result where clinical facilities are forced to operate at over-capacity. Any new residential development will add a further strain on the current acute healthcare system.”

Explaining the need for a contribution from this and other potential developers, the letter says: “This development imposes an additional demand on existing overburdened healthcare services, and failure to make the requested level of healthcare provision will detrimentally affect safety and care quality for both new and existing local populations.”

Sophie Brown, head of business development at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “In line with other trusts we are now working in collaboration with our council partners to understand the implications of these section 106 agreements for the trust and the services we provide for our community, so we might receive a contribution where there is an impact for us.”