Winter beds first to go at Stafford Hospital
Hospital beds introduced to cope with extra demand during winter will be the first of 60 to close at Stafford Hospital. Sixty of the hospitals 210 beds are to go, with staffing shortages believed to be the main reason.
Chief executive of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, Maggie Oldham, said: "Initially we are looking to close beds that were opened as additional winter capacity."
Sixty of around 200 beds from across the hospital will no longer be in use in a move which could potentially have an adverse effect on surrounding hospitals.
It is believed the issue is down to staffing problems at Stafford and comes just days after a health boss claimed that no staff wanted to work there.
New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and Manor Hospital in Walsall will see extra patients arrive on their doorsteps as a result.
Ambulances will also be redirected to those two hospitals throughout the day, as well as to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS (UHNS).
