Longton Cottage Hospital reopens because of A&E demands
A cottage hospital that had to close because of staff shortages has been reopened to help tackle pressure on Accident and Emergency departments.
Longton Cottage Hospital closed in September amid staff shortages at hospitals run by Staffordshire and Stoke Partnership NHS Trust.
Thirty seven beds have since been reopened on a temporary basis, along with 28 beds in Stafford.
Latest figures showed local A&E performance to be the worst in England.
Last week, just 63.7% of people attending emergency units at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford's County Hospital were seen within four hours, compared with a national target of 95%.
The next worst performing trust was the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which treated 70.3% of patients within four hours.
Staffordshire and Stoke Partnership NHS Trust, which runs community hospitals in the area, said reopening Longton Hospital was expected to cost up to £90,000 a week.