£70m downgrade of Stafford and Cannock hospitals revealed
The full extent of the proposed £70 million downgrading of both Stafford and Cannock hospitals can today be revealed.
Emergency surgery would no longer take place at scandal-hit Stafford, women would no longer give birth there and intensive care would be sent further afield.
The three-year programme of changes would also see a 24/7 A&E department return to Stafford but only for minor injuries, with around 50 per cent of cases sent elsewhere.
Some paediatric services would also be moved and the average ambulance journey time for people in Stafford would increase from eight minutes to 15.
One in five patients would be treated at Wolverhampton’s New Cross, Walsall Manor or University Hospital North Staffordshire under the changes proposed by health watchdog Monitor.
Bosses at Monitor said there had to be a “fundamental change” in clinical services at both hospitals but confirmed there should definitely be hospitals in the two towns.
Staff at Stafford and Cannock may find themselves relocated or out of a job altogether as part of the recommendations.
To cope with the influx of extra patients, the three other hospitals may get extra funding and new members of staff.
Monitor outlined its £70m vision for the future of services at Stafford and Cannock yesterday after being brought in to investigate the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Inspectors concluded that the trust was financially and clinically unsustainable.
The findings were today described as a “devastating” blow to both areas.
Mike Heenan, leader of Stafford Borough Council, said: “After all the traumas and difficulties this hospital has faced, the continual blow to morale of the hard-working members of staff, and the fact the hospital has made great strides to improve performance, demonstrated by recent statistics, this announcement will be seen as extremely unfair to all those involved in wanting to, and trying their best to, provide key hospital services to the people of Stafford.”
Gill Cooksley, director of the Contingency Planning Team sent in by Monitor, said: “Our recommendation is for a smaller local hospital in both Stafford and Cannock and what that will deliver is local access to the most regularly used services.”
It comes just days after steps were taken to consider putting the trust into the hands of special administrators.
If appointed, administrators would have to agree on whether to adopt the recommendations.
Comments for: "£70m downgrade of Stafford and Cannock hospitals revealed"
Baffled Borris
From what I gather, and from what people who've given birth there say, the maternity department at Stafford hospital has never been subject to the critisism that has engulfed the rest of the hospital. It is by most accounts, a fine and functional facility.
So why is it being axed?
Surely the idea should be to get rid of the bad bits, not the good bits?!
Richard
The continued incompetence of both those who work at and run Stafford hospitals and the authorities supposed to oversee it is staggering.
For those of us who live in the area it goves zero confidence in the local healthcare provision. Suggestions of doubling the journey time for emergencies and having treatment transferred to any other hospital to suit is unacceptable. This entire episode makes me glad I have private healthcare but I fear for my life and that of my family if we were to ever need emergency healthcare in this area.
Politicians, both past and present, and leadership of both the NHS and the regulators need to be held to account for this ongoing fiasco.
Rodders
I am amazed that someone who uses private healthcare can be arrogant enough to claim that the people who work at Stafford 'continue to be incompetent'. How does he know ?. I and, over the years, thousands of other Stafford people have been and continue to get looked after very well. Yes there were and probably still are some bad apples that need clearing out, but tarring all of the people who work at Stafford with the same brush is disgraceful.
Sam
Even if you have private health care, most of the teams of care nurses, radiographers, anaesthetists, operating room staff and the surgeons who work privately on say your gammy knee also do many hours of work within the NHS. If you need emergency treatment you go to an NHS hospital where you may meet the same staff who could have repaired your knee a few weeks before.
The golden hour of life will be much reduced for people dying of accidents, strokes and heart attacks within Stafford. You will have half an hour if that.
Write to the PM to stop the closures.
Mary Jenkins
What are we coming to when we can't get treatment close to home. Not only does will it take longer by ambulance it also affects
visitors while in hospital.
I had really good care in Stafford Hospital and no problems with Cannock Hospital.
Its time now to stop and look where the money has been wasted and get back on track, shutting down services
and cutting down on staff is not the answer.
Its a very sad day for all of us who need these hospitals.
Sam
Spot on.
Shaun
Both my children were born at Stafford and my wife and I would never critisice the care we recieved. My mom has recently had an operation and again the care she recieved was First class ( her words not mine) instead of removing the bad apples this id just a knee jerk reaction to make it look as if something is being done. Where will people go when other local hostpitals such as New cross and the manor get investigated and similar patterns emerge.
Wolvo girl
The work that MSFT has done over the past few years has seen this hospital become one of excellent quality. I feel this is all coming down to money, the services that cost money i.e. A&E, critcal care etc are the services being disbanded and the services that make money i.e. elective care, outpatints diagnostics are being kept. It is unacceptable that the people of this area should put up with a money led 2nd rate service. What happened to care closere to home and where does the pateint come in this, certainly not first.
hayley
This can only seem like the hiding/brushing under the carpet. although i agree changes that have happened in the past and those that still need to happen in the future, downgrading/shuting etc, does not slove the problems of stafford hospital. i have had personal experiences at the hospital good and bad, however surly with a grown town of stafford and rural areas, having a local hospital that can attend to our health needs is the important thing. and i do not feel 8 mintues to 15 mintues is accepatble, this is life or death.
Peter
Some money has been taken out of Stafford hospitals hands because people obviously chose to have their babies and treatment elsewhere, the answer now is not to cut but to invest and win back confidence, but Government do not want to link failing hospitals with spending to improve as it would set a precedent.
Where is local MP Lefroy, Bill Cash has spoken up on behalf of his area, not heard much from the Stafford MP. Hope he is reminding his Tory hierarchy that Stafford is not a safe seat and the Government need to be seen to be improving Stafford health care, not downgrading it.
sisterdora
This decision seems to be in line with decisions taken in London to close A & E departments across the city and it's outskirts..
This not only is a problem for those directly affected but it also puts pressure on services elsewhere. Everyone should have access to a fully functioning A & E unit accessible within a reasonable time frame which deals with major life and death issues, even if it does only that and patients are subsequently transferred elsewhere for ongoing care.
It has been clear over the years that big is not better either in health or education; scale economies are outweighed by decreasing efficiency and effectiveness.and accountability is so multilayered it's difficult to find it. A fundamental rethink is drastically over due both in terms of structure and systems as a further danger is lurking - if things don't change fewer qualified people will be wanting to work in UK healthcare
Sam Moore
Some people of Stafford were rightly critical of the hospital when things were bad but after the second enquiry resulted in rapid changes that make it one of the safest (in the top 5) of DGH’s and hospitals they were still wrongly critical of the work taking place, labelling the hospital awful and a death trap even though the points they raised were addressed and fixed. After refusing to meet anyone at SDGH they continued with their own narrow self interest agenda that has culminated in the politically expedient decision (thank goodness for Cure The NHS the Tories will now be saying to themselves, they helped us push this through) for changing a whole tier of NHS care, i.e. DGH care throughout the UK.
The people of Stafford have failed to support the hospital and have thus signed the death warrant of the hospital and they now have to live with the consequences of their lack of support and hope that in the not too distant future a loved one within Stafford who needs urgent life saving treatment after an accident or heart attack will not die on the way to Wolverhampton, or if they get to that hospital alive and find it overflowing with cases having take the trip of fear in a siren and blue light ambulance with dying relative on board all the way to the UHNS. I pity the children of Stafford who will die in the years to come as a result of the closure due to the self satisfied interest of a smallish group of Stafford people, who were never happy that things at Stafford had been sorted out.
One day maybe in a year, two or five a large crash on the M6 near Stafford will occur resulting in many tens of people being injured. Many of those injured will die on the way to hospitals miles away and then the people of the UK and of Staffordshire would have wished they saved Stafford Hospital so many lives could have been saved.
scott
All thankyou cards for this situation to Julie Baily who at the end of the day wanted revenge for the death of her loved one, whatever the cost to others lives.
irenes liitle boy
So Scott, would you have been happy if one of your parents had to rely on the water in a flower vase in order to get a drink, errrrr, I THINK NOT! I feel that Julie Bailey et al, have just bought to light that, like most government based operations, we have too many managers and pen pushers and not enough front line staff that can see, and deal with patients. Also, of course, Nursing, used to be a vocation, NOT a university degree based career. I feel, too posh to wash rings true!
scott
With your abrasive comments towards nurses they appear guilty before they get a chance to "nurse" anyone! In December 2012 A/E Drs & nurses were doing CPR on my dad as if it was their relative. I don`t want the hospital shut because he died & I am not looking for a scapegoat or any other failings there.
If relatives had to drink water from a vase I would not make the people of Stafford suffer & demand staff are fired, I would make a point to see it rectified & not lobby MPs to shut the place down.
Max
There as never be vases on the wards for over 15 years at stafford as no flower are allowed. So how can people drink from vases?
Ivan
HOLD ON! is there a conspiracy? no vases on wards yet the most famous complaint from Stafford is relatives drinking from vases!? WHO put them there and who saw this happening, WHAT a one sided investigation, I bet MPs and J.Bailey are in this togerther to move services to another hospital cos both parties are very quite now. Hmmm. Come on Express and Star, get an enquiry going.
Jez
Wards don`t have flowers and vases as its now health and safety, although its nice to have flowers when you`re not well but not very safe to drink from it. Thanks on both counts Julie Bailey et al for ruining any normality on wards at Stafford, if someone choked on food on a ward would we ban food? soon staff will be afraid to help in-case they get a complaint. Did you ask for compensation, will you tell us!
Dennis
front line staff are too busy dealing with pen pushing complaining relatives that don`t give nurse and doctor a chance to deal with health issues before they criticise, this is Julie Baileys legacy. Soon protocols will come into place stopping staff doing what they do best and thats care for strangers and nurse them back to health, it will be treat the symptoms and get them out asap don`t give them excuse to complain
Sam
Credit where its due as Julies team got want they wanted as they were vocal, unlike the people of Stafford who have sat back and lost their hospital, does anyone compliment a hospital?? We only listen to complaints
sisterdora
Re Julie Bailey - I don't think that is a fair comment Scott - would you prefer it all to be still under the carpet and for YOUR relatives (or yourself) to die needlessly?
scott
I would have worked with the Hospital to make it a better place, not destroyed it so ensuring others relatives would die needlessly. If I wrote a book about it the money would have gone to the hospital not in my pocket. I understand there will be a lot of "carpets" lifted when the other hospitals are inspected, do we shut them down as-well? I don`t think J.Baileys comments were fair regarding Stafford.
dave
its more likely that my relatives that live 15minute walk from stafford hospital will die in an emergency due to a needless trip to another hospital if A/E goes from stafford
Linda Evans
Well done Julie and Co. Hope you are all satisfied. My daughter and countless others will now be out of a job they have all worked hard for. A very sad day indeed.
Julie
Several years ago Stafford Hospital was pretty awful; but that has all changed now and the staff there and at Cannock are doing an excellent job. It is awful that these Hospitals are being downgraded - it leaves a huge area of Staffordshire neglected, our times to get to hospital in an emergency will increase and so our liklihood of a full recovery will inevitably decrease; this will led to greater NHS spending .... so the saving of the £70m will be a false one. Not only will extra funds be needed in wolverhampton, walsall and Stoke because of the extra number of patients but a further increase will then be needed because of our poorer recovery rates.
I notice Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley is conspicuous by his absence on this issue.