Stafford Hospital inpatient surgery transferred

Inpatient gynaecology, inpatient general surgery including breast, colorectal and upper and lower gastrointestinal tract surgery and inpatient emergency trauma all transferred on Monday after the dissolution of Mid Stafforshire Foundation Trust last year.

Trust special administrators had concluded the trust was clinically and financially unsustainable.

University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust said the changes will mean it can provide more robust clinical rotas and improved care quality and patient outcomes using fewer locum staff. There will be more daycase surgery and outpatient services at Stafford Hospital, including orthopaedics and gynaecology.

The north Staffordshire trust will open a further two new wards in May ahead of paediatric inpatient services moving from Stafford, as well as two new operating theatres in July.

Four gynaecology and general surgery consultants, two from each discipline, are transferring to New Cross and Cannock Chase hospitals, run by Royal Wolverhampton Trust.

All two week wait cancer referral outpatients within the south Staffordshire and Cannock Chase areas will become the responsibility of Royal Wolverhampton.

John Oxtoby, Royal Stoke’s medical director, said: “The transfer was phased [in] over the course of a week and was a success. Over the last two years we have seen a 70 per cent increase in demand for emergency surgery at Royal Stoke from the Stafford area. This shows that the patients had in effect already moved, even though two separate services continued to be provided.

“The integration of the services at Royal Stoke now means that we have 28 extra beds, a larger team of staff and additional support services to provide this vital care. These changes will lead to a number of patient improvements and a safe and secure clinical service.”