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Worcestershire NHS staff shortage to see service relocation

Friday 20th June 2014
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    A growing staff shortage in the NHS in Worcestershire could see the relocation of certain services.

    There has been an increased concern among members of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust that services could become stretched if the staff shortage is not addressed quickly. The problem has prompted a possibility that some neonatal services could move from Redditch's Alexandra Hospital to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

    The trust is considering moving all high-risk births to Worcester as it feels that Alexandra Hospital may not have the sufficient number of staff to ensure that the highest possible quality is being delivered. Should the plans gain approval it will mean that women who are less than 37 weeks pregnant when they go into labour will be treated at the Royal Hospital as opposed to the Alexandra.

    Officials stated that the plans would not affect consultant-led obstetric or paediatric services currently offered at the Alexandra. A spokeswoman for the trust explained that the consultancy is the only service that could be kept at the hospital to ensure patient safety in the long term.

    However, Neil Stote, chairman of the Save the Alex campaign, is concerned about the future of the hospital: "I understand and agree that patient safety must come first but I do not believe for one second that all has been done to solve this staffing crisis.

    "The so-called temporary part closure of the consultant-led delivery service is anything but temporary – history shows that hospital services that are temporally closed never reopen.”

    The NHS on a whole is experiencing a damaging staff shortage and trusts have looking at various methods to tackle the issue. One method has been recruiting from abroad and finding skilled professionals from Europe and further afield to work in hospitals across the UK.

    Contact Mediplacements for the latest nursing jobs and for information on overseas recruitment.

    Written by Angela NewburyADNFCR-1780-ID-801729956-ADNFCR

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