Dudley hospital ward will stay open after increased demand on A&E
A move to close a ward at Russells Hall Hospital was abandoned because of the increasing demand on A&E, health chiefs revealed.
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust had planned to shut Ward A1 and reduce temporary staff numbers as part of more than 50 cost-cutting schemes – but has faced an 'unprecedented' level of demand over the Christmas period.
Now, bosses have confirmed that instead of being closed, the ward has instead been converted into a new GP-led rehabilitation facility called The Evergreen Unit.
More than 600 patients poured into A&E at Russells Hall every day over the Christmas and New Year period, with a call from bosses for people to avoid hospital if possible.
Through the ward closure and other money saving initiatives the trust was looking to save a total of more than £11.9 million over the financial year 2016/17, but they now expect the savings to be closer to £10.2 million.
Hospital bosses also disclosed that the planned savings have been hit by a delay in introducing new medical equipment.
Dr Paul Harrison, acting chief executive, said: "We have 57 individual Cost Improvement Programme (CIP) schemes underway which aim to improve patient care and experience whilst also ensuring good value for money.
"So far this year, projects have saved the trust £6.8m. By the end of the financial year, we expect the saving to be £10.2m."
"Some of our projects have not yet made the level of savings we anticipated. We had hoped to close one of our inpatient wards; however, due to increased pressure and emergency admissions, this has not been possible. As a result, we were also unable to reduce our temporary staffing spend to the level we had hoped.
"There has also been a delay in introducing new medical equipment into our pathology laboratories which will eventually save us nearly £1m per annum.
"Although we were unable to close one of our wards, we have instead converted Ward A1 into a new GP-led rehabilitation facility called The Evergreen Unit.
"This has a team of dedicated nurses and occupational therapists who work to help patients become more confident and independent for when they leave hospital."
Earlier this month the trust announced that the number of people arriving by ambulance over the Christmas and New Year period was up 10 per cent on the same period a year ago.
