Stafford Hospital's A&E will reopen to some sick overnight
Patients suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath will be admitted to Stafford Hospital's A&E at night under proposals to reopen the department round-the-clock.
The plans are subject to final approval by paramedics and GPs but talks are ongoing and they are hopeful of reaching an agreement in time for the unit to reopen 24 hours a day in December – more than a year after it shut between 10pm and 8am due to staff shortages.
Health bosses expect Stafford to treat two patients a night who would otherwise have been sent to New Cross in Wolverhampton, Walsall Manor or hospitals in Burton or Stoke.
They hope to increase that figure depending on the early success of the pilot.
For the last 12 months up to 15 patients a night have been transferred.
Robert Courteney-Harris, medical director at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust which runs Stafford Hospital, said today: "We are delighted to be working with our commissioning partners to improve the experience of, what will initially be a small number of patients who are currently being redirected to other hospitals at night."
Mother-of-four Cheryl Porter, from Brocton, set up the Support Stafford Hospital group in the wake of the overnight closure. She said today: "This is progress."
