Stafford's County Hospital: £2.5 million revamp but still no night A&E

The work will give County Hospital bigger consulting rooms and an overhaul of the way medication is handed out.

The work will bring the facility into the modern era after years of problems, bosses say. They and architects unveiled the plans, also promising a refurbishment of the relatives and viewing rooms.

However, some members of the public are not happy with how the money has been spent, and believe it should have gone towards making the department a 24-hour operation and providing more staff to lighten the load on overworked doctors and nurses.

The department stopped offering an overnight service in December 2011. And despite the windfall of cash being spent on it, the department will remain operational from 8am to 10pm, as it has since the Stafford Hospital scandal. The nearest overnight service is at Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Mark Hackett, chief executive for the Stafford and Stoke hospitals, insists the current provisions are sufficient, and there is no need to re-open Stafford at night.

He said: "It has taken several years to develop the service change plan currently being implemented. The plan is in line with service changes recommended by the Trust Special Administrator.

"These service changes were widely consulted upon in the summer of 2013, were assessed and supported by leading national and local clinical experts and were approved by the Secretary of State for Health in February 2014. They are part of an unprecedented £300m investment in the Staffordshire health community."

Dr Mark Ragoo, clinical lead for A&E at Stafford, was positive about the changes.

He said: "A vibrant, modern hospital. Can I deliver major emergency care with this facility? Yes I can."

But campaigner Julian Porter said: "They should concentrate on getting the service right. That means opening at night again and making it a fully functioning emergency unit. They need to take some of the pressure off the staff in Stoke."

The public ran the rule over the plans drawn up by Gilling Dod Architects. The plans were met largely with a positive reaction, but concerns were raised about the lack of staffing, clarity of the signage for the separate regular and children's A&E, the drafty entrance and uncomfortable seating.