E&S Comment: Cutting Stafford Hospital beds is madness

Now almost a third of the beds are to be closed to patients, believed to be a result of health staff not wanting to work there.

Wolverhampton's New Cross and Walsall's Manor Hospital will end up taking on yet more patients as a result.

Already their accident and emergency departments have to cover for Stafford's being closed at night.

How much more pressure can they be expected to bear?

This newspaper has been clear from the beginning of the tragic saga of Stafford Hospital that the way to cure it is not to break it up and run it down but to invest in it and build it back up.

Stafford is not the failing institution that it once was but it has not been turned into the example of all the modern National Health Service should be.

After everything the patients of Stafford went through, they deserve the best medical facilities in Britain.

But now we have an altogether new scandal, not of poor treatment but of successive governments having failed to adapt to and resolve the issues in a way that benefits Stafford.

The town continues to grow with huge housing developments springing up and pulling in a new population from South Staffordshire, Cannock and beyond.

If anything its hospital should be expanding to match, not shrinking.

It is not only scandalous to do so, but extremely dangerous.

The impact of a shortage of beds in Stafford will spill out and affect hospitals in neighbouring towns and cities.

This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Wolverhampton and Walsall have their own very dense populations without their hospitals having to care for people from outside their catchment areas.

How long will it be before we have to report stories of patients dying on their way to Walsall or Wolverhampton, who could otherwise have gone to Stafford, but who were sent miles away because the hospital was starved of resources?

David Cameron and his health secretary Jeremy Hunt use the example of Stafford Hospital to silence any criticism of his government's stewardship of the NHS.

In reality, the way the coalition has allowed Stafford to falter shows that neither Labour nor the Tories have proven themselves worthy of leading the greatest institution this country has ever produced.

Somebody, somewhere must end the madness before more people die.

Messrs Cameron and Hunt, the responsibility lies with you.

New strip must earn its stripes

With all their marketing analysis, one would think football clubs would appreciate that most fans just want their team's shorts to reflect its history and heritage in traditional colours.

Maybe West Bromwich Albion has done this and discovered what most fans want is the strip unveiled today with a barely visible, thin pin stripe as opposed to the long-standing design.

Players, managers and owners may come and go but fans devote a lifetime to their clubs and expect certain things to stay the same.

Wolves have always played in gold and black, Villa in Claret and Blue, while Albion are the team of the blue and white stripes.

There may be good financial and marketing reasons for this change. It's up to the club.

And despite our online poll showing around 70 per cent of supporters are against the new design, we know what is most important is for Albion to strive for glory.

Most fans would probably prioritise the performance on the pitch over the style of the strip any day.

However, seeing the stars of Albion taking the club to the top of the Premier League in something more reminiscent of Tottenham Hotspur is going to take some getting used to.