Staffordshire health services to receive £250m as Mid Staffs dissolved

University Hospitals of North Staffordshire Trust has confirmed it will officially take over the running of Stafford Hospital on November 1 to become the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.

Stafford Hospital will be renamed the County Hospital and the North Staffordshire hospital site will be called Royal Stoke University Hospital.

As part of the transition, more than £60m will be invested immediately to pay for capital improvements and upgrades with a further £20m spent on medical equipment and purchasing technology.

A total of £176m will be provided to support the transformation of services up to the end of the 2016-17 financial year.

All the money is being provided by the Department of Health and the NHS Trust Development Authority.

The investment will pay for a refurbishment of Stafford Hospital’s A&E, an expansion of its outpatient department, and new and refurbished wards and operating theatres.

Other planned improvements include: the doubling of single rooms with en-suite facilities; a new MRI scanner; a new midwife-led unit; and new services such as eye surgery and a frail elderly assessment service.

The investment in Stoke-on-Trent, will create: an additional 64 beds; 12 extra beds in its critical care ; an orthopaedic centre with 56 beds; an operating theatre; 12 maternity beds; an expanded neo-natal unit; a 28-bed children’s ward; and car park with 300 spaces.

Consultant-led maternity services for medium-risk births will move from Stafford to Stoke early next year on a temporary basis. High-risk births are already dealt with at Stoke.

The North Staffordshire trust claims nine out of ten patients currently using Stafford Hospital will continue to be treated locally, including women who need antenatal or postnatal care.

Mark Hackett, chief executive of UHNS and chief executive designate of the new University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust said: “This is a moment of major, positive change for the people of Staffordshire and their local NHS.

“We have succeeded in negotiating a very substantial investment of over a quarter of a billion pounds into NHS services in Staffordshire.

“Safety will be our number one priority with safer care in better facilities, more follow up care in local settings and better access to specialist care.”

Meanwhile, the DH and TDA has also agreed a funding package for Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust which will take over Cannock Hospital at the same time, taking the total central investment to £300m.