Beds to go at Princess Royal Hospital
Monday 10th October 2011, 3:24PM BST.
Twenty-eight beds will be lost at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital next month in a bid to reduce costs and improve performance, it has been revealed.
Bosses at the hospital claim fewer beds will be needed if staff shorten the average length of stay for patients.
The hospital currently has 757 beds, higher than the national average, and it is thought more than 100 fewer would be needed if the hospital performed better.
From next month ward eight, a gastroenterology ward, will close, but no jobs will be lost as a result.
The ward could be used as an overspill ward during winter months if required.
Changes being implemented through a new ‘bed bundle’ system means fewer beds will be needed as patients should be reviewed and discharged quicker, given a better estimation of treatment times, and transferred to wards earlier.
Adam Cairns, chief executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “Clearly for the staff affected this is going to cause some upset and worry. I am sorry about this, but no-one needs to worry about losing their job.
“I recognise that this will be a difficult time which is why I believe the commitment to staff that we do not plan to make any people redundant is vital.”
Andy Rogers, a spokes-man for the trust, said discussions were at an early stage and it was not known how often the wards available for escalation during winter months would be used as it would depend on the demand for hospital services.
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