- University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust says Stafford A&E department is unsafe due to shortage of specialist paediatric staff
- Concerns echo those raised in August 2006 when a peer review warned of “immediate risks” to children due to a lack of staff
- Staff shortages include doctors and nurses trained in paediatric and anaesthetic skills
PATIENT SAFETY: Emergency services for children at Stafford hospital have been suspended because of safety concerns amid a shortage of A&E staff with specialist paediatric skills.
The University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust, which runs the renamed County Hospital site, said today that the service, which sees 30 children a day, was not clinically safe for anyone under 18.
It said in a statement that the accident and emergency department has a lack of sufficient numbers of staff with very specific levels of paediatric and anaesthetic training, including resuscitation and life-support competencies.
The suspension comes 10 years after the same concerns were raised over emergency services for children at Stafford hospital, which was then run by Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust.
For full article see HSJ 25 August 2016