No decision will be made on reopening Stafford Hospital’s accident and emergency department overnight until the end of January, bosses revealed today.

Chiefs said “a number of targets” need to be hit before the department can reopen. A progress report will be presented to the Trust Board on January 26.

The temporary closure of the ward, between 10pm and 8am, came into force on December 1 because of staff shortages and has seen patients transferred to hospitals in Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Manjit Obhrai, a medical director at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘‘There are a number of targets which need to be achieved before it is safe to reopen the Emergency Department overnight.

“A report on progress will be presented to our Trust Board on January 26.

“Our focus is now on achieving these targets as quickly as possible.”

The current proposed date for the re-opening of A&E is March 1.

Cheryl Porter, aged 48, from Brocton, who heads Support Stafford Hospital, says she is worried that the department may be closed for even longer.

She said: “There is absolutely no way in March they are going to turn around and tell us that we are not having our A&E department back.”

Mrs Porter feels more can be done by the hospital to get in the staff they desperately need.

She said: “We want them to advertise nationally, we want them to attract people to the area.

“They need to invite people from far and wide for a challenge.”

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