Stafford hospital multi-million revamp under way
A £15 million revamp of two wards at Stafford's County Hospital has begun - with work expected to be completed by the new year.
The first stage of the upgrade is now underway of the wards, which will each have 28 beds and will be complete in January.
It will be followed by the next phase of work which will see three more wards extended. This will be completed by 2017.
The wards will be for medical use - but it has not yet been decided what they will be used for.
The redevelopment is aimed at creating high quality, modern facilities for patients at the Weston Road site.
Gill Adamson, hospital director at County Hospital, said: "Our wards will be transformed into first class facilities for the people of Stafford and the surrounding areas.
"The new wards will be modern, bright and ensure the care provided by our dedicated staff remains at the very highest quality."
The investment comes after it was reported that more than 400 people spent half a day on a trolley waiting to be dealt with at Staffordshire's A&E departments at the beginning of the year.
The figures over last winter revealed there were more than 600 12-hour delays at Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital from December last year to February this year.
Trust bosses blamed 'unprecedented' pressure on the A&E departments because of high-levels of flu and an outbreak of pneumonia.
The new wards will increase the number of single rooms available with full en-suite facilities from 14 per cent of all rooms to more than 40 per cent.
The redevelopment will provide more bathroom and shower facilities for patients, creating privacy and more space on the ward.
It also ensures better infection prevention and control, with clinical staff involved in the design and development of the new ward layouts.
Ms Adamson added: "I'm confident that staff, patients and visitors will really see the benefit of the refurbished wards.
"We're doing this on a phased approach to ensure that patients can continue to be treated at County Hospital while the works are ongoing.
"Once completed, the hospital will have five larger wards which boast modern facilities and ensure our clinical staff can continue and enhance the excellent work they do in treating our patients."
