A group of newspapers in Yorkshire have failed in their bid to demand a review into basic care at a hospital.

The Reporter Series, which incudes the Dewsbury Reporter, started a campaign called Dignity at DDH after concerned readers contacted them about members of their families being let down when it came to basic care at Dewsbury and District Hospital.

The Mirfield Reporter, the Batley and Birstall News, and the Spenborough Guardian, wanted health bosses to carry out a major review of basic care for the elderly.

Editor Hannah Ridgeway told HTFP that people had gone to them with stories about patients being left in their own urine, being treated like ‘lumps of meat’ or shivering by their bedsides.

But, after reading the campaign coverage, the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Stephen Eames told the newspapers no such review would take place.

He said he had been assured there were processes in place to make sure patients were properly cared for.

In launching the campaign in March Hannah said: “We feel we must shine a light on problems like this and be a collective voice in asking for change.”

Dignity at DDH called for trust bosses to take on board the issues they had highlighted and, if there were systemic problems within the service, to say what they were going to do.

The health boss told the Reporter he had ‘personally sought reassurance’ about the cases highlighted by readers during a series of special reports – but would not be carrying out a full review into care for vulnerable patients at the site.