Stafford Hospital: New trust to run renamed hospital

Stafford Hospital was hit by a series of scandals about poor care between 2005 and 2009

A new trust is being set up to run the scandal-hit Stafford Hospital and a second hospital in Stoke. 

University Hospitals of North Staffordshire Midlands NHS Trust will replace Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which is due to be dissolved next month.

Stafford Hospital, which will be called County Hospital, was at the centre of a £6m public inquiry into care failings.

 More than £250m will be invested in setting up the new trust.

'Over £300m cost' 

It will come into being on 1 November.

University Hospital of North Staffordshire, which is in Stoke, is to be renamed Royal Stoke University Hospital. The body that runs it, University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust (UHNS), will be incorporated in the new trust.

It has already been announced that some services would move from Stafford, under the control of Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which will take the cost of the changes to "well over £300m".

Mark Hackett, the chief executive-designate of the new trust, said the figures were "considerably more" than first estimates.

He said part of the money would go towards refurbishing the A&E department at Stafford, in order to double the space and reduce overcrowding.

However, he said there were currently no plans to return to a 24-hour A&E service at the hospital, which switched to overnight closures in 2011.