Stafford Hospital A&E hours could be reduced again
Opening hours at Stafford Hospital's A&E could be cut further due to staff shortages amid winter pressures, bosses have said.
The number of inpatient beds could also reduce later this month due to difficulty with recruiting and retaining trained nurses.
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust had a vacancy rate of more than 10 per cent for trained nurses in December – the equivalent of 74 full-time positions.
More than a dozen nurses had to be drafted in from Cannock Hospital on a short-term basis to help with winter pressures last month, the trust's senior management team was told during a meeting yesterday.
Chief executive Maggie Oldham said further restrictions on A&E opening times could not be discounted – and made a plea to the public that the department should be used for emergencies only.
She said talks had been held with other trusts.
