Jeremy has welcomed the news that the cut in the number of acute hospital beds in the new University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) is being reconsidered.

He first raised his concerns about the effect of the loss of 230 acute beds last year and has been campaigning on the matter since then. He pointed out the serious consequences of fewer acute beds for the larger, and older, population in the whole area, including Stafford.

“I welcome the news that UHNS executives are looking again at the situation. I wrote to the Chief Executive last year about the cuts after seeing at first hand the pressures on acute beds even before the planned cuts.

“I also looked closely at some of the assumptions on which the lower number of acute beds for the new hospital was based. I saw that the planners had used population estimates for the area which were out-of-date. Most recent government figures show a considerably higher population (461,600) for the catchment area in 2023/4 than the 2001 census (441,800) which had been the basis for planning.

“However it is important that action comes from this review. There is no alternative as far as I can see to reinstating a fair amount of the acute bed capacity which will otherwise be cut in the new hospital. The proposed new intermediate beds will not bridge the gap. I will continue to keep a close eye on the situation in the interests of Stafford constituency.”