A public meeting will be held in Stone by the administrators of Stafford Hospital as they look to gather public opinion on their draft proposals for its future.
The Trust Special Administrator’s draft report on the future of hospital services in Mid Staffordshire was published today (31st July) and it will now go out to consultation. The consultation period starts on Tuesday 6th August and runs until 1st October. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make a final decision on the proposals by the end of the year.
You can read the full report HERE and follow the links to the consultation documents too.
The headlines for Stafford Hospital are:
The trust that runs the hospital (the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust) should be dissolved
Stafford Hospital should be run by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS)
The report recommends that no babies be born at Stafford Hospital as soon as other hospitals are ready to take on the additional capacity, with consultant-led pre and post-natal care delivered in partnership with UHNS so local women can still attend appointments in Stafford
Stafford should keep its 14-hour-a-day A&E service, which has been in place since 2011
Stafford’s critical care unit should be downgraded and some emergency surgery lost
Seriously ill children should no longer be admitted to Stafford. They should instead go to UHNS
Stafford hospitals should gain some minor operations and more patients should be sent there to recover from complicated surgery
A “Frail Elderly Assessment service” should be introduced, which would mean different sources providing information on older people’s needs when they are referred to hospital
A public consultation meeting is being held at St Dominic’s Priory School in Station Road, Stone, on Tuesday 13th August from 7pm to 9pm. The following meetings, open to all on a first-come, first-served basis have been arranged.
- Wednesday 7th August, 7pm, Staffordshire County Showground
- Thursday 8th August, 10am, Prince of Wales Theatre, Cannock
- Tuesday 13th August, 7pm, St Dominic’s Priory School, Stone
- Wednesday 14th August, 2pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre
- Tuesday 10th September, 10am, Staffordshire County Showground
- Thursday 12th September, 7pm, Chase Leisure Centre, Cannock
- Wednesday 18th September, 7pm, Lea Hall Social Club, Rugeley
- Thursday 19th September, 2pm, at Chase Leisure Centre, Cannock
Meetings will last for two hours, with doors opening 30 minutes prior to the meeting starting.
2 comments
Mike Edwards
Can’t wait to attend in Stone. 100% can close stafford’s maternity ward. We have a short trip up the A34 (15 minutes) to get to an excellent maternity centre in Newcastle. Unlike all the old people pensioners and under 16’s on the Stafford marches my wife gave birth recently in Newcastle and it was excellent! In the classes people were scared at the prospect of being sent to Stafford if the ward was full. It’s not too far, we drove from burton as we were in the process of moving back to stone. It seems the people on the march are directly related to someone who works at the hospital. Personally I think it’s all status issue rather than getting the best quality health care! Obsessed with being the county town when they live next to a city which is far far bigger!