CONSULTATION over changes which could give Ilkley patients a hand in running two major hospitals ends tomorrow.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust hopes to hand over the management of Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, Bradford to local people, as one of the first NHS Foundation Trusts.

The new status is being introduced by the Government to encourage the management of hospital trusts by people with more knowledge of local needs. Public consultation on the move ends tomorrow.

Although most of the two hospitals' patients come from outside the Ilkley area, the trust is keen to have Ilkley residents on the board of governors.

Malcolm Pode, of the trust, told Ilkley Neighbourhood Forum last week that Ilkley people tended to look towards Airedale General Hospital as their 'local' large hospital, but said patients were treated in Bradford if the services are not available at the Steeton hospital.

"I acknowledge that the majority of people look to Airedale as their main hospital provider, but we do actually treat a number of people from this area," said Mr Pode.

People from all over the Bradford district are invited to become 'members' of the Foundation Trust, which would give them the right to vote on trust issues, including the appointment or removal of governors.

Some Ilkley people at the meeting had worries that making the hospitals accountable to a larger number of people could result in a 'mushrooming' of bureaucracy.

Mr Pode stressed that achieving Foundation Trust status would not mark a move towards to private sector. He said the hospital would be limited in the amount of income it could receive from treating private patients, and would not be allowed to prioritise treatment for private patients above NHS patients.

He says a regulatory body is expected to be set up to oversee the operation of Foundation Status health trusts.

Consultation details are available on the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust website at www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk.