The NHS Trust due to take over Stafford Hospital is in discussion about whether or not the hospital should be renamed to escape negative connotations following the negligence scandal of last year.  The trust that operates the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS), based in Stoke-on-Trent, said that the board discussed the possibility of renaming the hospital on Friday.  This would mean changing the names of both Stafford Hospital and the main hospital in Stoke-on-Trent to its own name.

Prior to going into administration, the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust was responsible for Stafford Hospital, which was founded in the 1760s at a different site to where it’s positioned currently.  The trust also ran Cannock Hospital and provided healthcare to a wide area with people coming from Stafford, Cannock, Rugeley and other surrounding areas.  The trust provided to a population of around 275,000 people.  The University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, however, has run the main hospital in Stoke-on-Trent since 1814, serving a population of around 500,000.   

No further comment

Alun Davies, who worked for North Staffordshire hospitals for 20 years, said: “There is no doubt that worldwide the name of Staffordshire is linked with Stafford Hospital … If you are a young doctor looking for a job, you may pass over Staffordshire and look for somewhere that doesn't have this connotation.”

Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health, is due to make an announcement regarding the future of the hospitals later in the month.  UHNS said that there would be no further comment until a decision was reached about Stafford Hospital.  

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