Stafford's County Hospital: Maternity unit probe is 'insult'
Campaigners have branded a report ruling out the return of full maternity services to County Hospital as 'insulting' and a 'waste of money'.
Consultant-led services for high-risk births were moved from County to the Royal Stoke University Hospital in January 2015, while a maternity-led service for low-risk deliveries remained.
Julian Porter, from the Support Stafford Hospital group, said: "Why waste money doing this when the outcome was always going to be the same? They are wasting millions of pounds with accountants just to tell us we are not going to get the services back.
"It is all part of one big plan to downgrade smaller district general hospitals. They have to do a consultation otherwise we would challenge it legally and take it to a judicial review.
"It is obviously disappointing. But the fact they have had to go through all this is insulting. It is just smoke and mirrors."
Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy criticised NHS England over the review.
He said: "This review was instructed three years ago in 2014. It has taken NHS England far too long to instigate it. As a result, the removal of consultant-led obstetrics made as a result of the TSA (Trust Special Administrators) recommendations in 2015 was completed long before the review started.
"I regard that failure by NHS England to act earlier as unacceptable. Had the review been conducted in 2014, a number of the points made by the review, such as the need to build additional theatres and cover the cost of equipment, would not have been nearly as relevant."
David Levy, NHS England regional medical director, said: "Patient safety is always our overriding priority and has been the leading principle underpinning this review."
Karen Meadowcroft, director of midwifery for the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs County Hospital, said: "
We will be looking at ways we can work with commissioners to review the recommendations."
