A&E and child outpatient cases rise at troubled Stafford Hospital
The number of people attending the accident and emergency department at Stafford Hospital has risen for the first time in almost four years, figures have revealed.
It comes as it also emerged that the number of children being treated as outpatients has also soared year on year despite concerns that too few new recruits cannot be found to work there following inquiries into care standards.
But the town's MP Jeremy Lefroy has obtained figures that show more people are using A&E, even though it is closed at night.
Provisional figures for 2013/14 released in Parliament show 46,302 people attended the department, compared with 45,344 the year before.
It is the first increase at Stafford since 2010.
The number of children aged 17 and under using outpatient services has also increased from 23,257 in 2009 to 27,163 in the past year.
It comes after plans were revealed to cut 58 beds at Stafford due to staffing shortages.
Andrew Donald, chief officer of the Stafford and Surrounds Clinical Commissioning Group, said the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was doing 'all it can' to recruit and retain staff 'but the fact remains that it is struggling to attract sufficient numbers of qualified nurses to avoid having to rely on agency or temporary staff'.
New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and Manor Hospital in Walsall will see extra patients arrive on their doorsteps as a result of the cuts.
Ambulances will also be redirected to those two hospitals throughout the day, as well as to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS (UHNS).
But campaigners wanting to keep services at Stafford say the figures show there is increasing demand for a fully-equipped hospital in the town.
Cheryl Porter from the the Support Stafford Hospital group said: "It proves that people want to go to their local hospital.
"The A&E department is needed by people in Stafford and surrounding towns.
"It's not good for the other hospitals to have to take on people who could have been going to Stafford."
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Lefroy said: "Stafford hospital has struggled with deficits for many years, but it has substantially improved its care.
"On Friday, however, it was announced that 58 beds will be closed due to staff shortages. My constituents and others are extremely concerned that the trust special administrator's plans, which the Secretary of State endorsed, to keep A&E, acute medicine and many other services at Stafford are at risk."
Health minister Daniel Poulter replied: "The most important thing in delivering local services is to ensure high-quality patient care and patient safety."
