A&E closure begins tonight

Rochdale Infirmary's A&E department will close to ambulances between 6pm and 8am - starting tonight (Monday 2 August 2010)

Rochdale Infirmary’s A&E will close to ambulances between 6pm and 8am from this evening (Monday 2 August 2010).

All blue light ambulances will be placed on divert to either the Royal Oldham Hospital or Bury’s Fairfield Hospital.

The decision has been slammed by the ‘Friends of Our Infirmary’ group who are desperately trying to save the hospital.

However bosses of the Pennine Acute Trust who run the hospital have insisted that the decision has been made in relation to patient safety following a series of recruitment problems.

At the time of the closure’s announcement, Councillor Jean Ashworth, the Chairwoman of Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: ““The Trust has said that this is happening in the interests of patient safety but how safe are patients if ambulances are being put on divert?

“We all know there are recruitment problems, there are recruitment problems nationwide but they (other hospitals) don’t close their A&E departments.

“If there was a major road accident between 6pm and 8am ambulances would be diverted to the nearest A&E but who knows how long the wait will be there.”

Although there will not be any ambulance patients arriving overnight, the A&E department will remain open but will continue to operate throughout the night as an urgent care centre (UCC) to see people with a minor injury or illness.

The UCC will be staffed by two doctors, with nursing support. Those patients who self present to the emergency department will be unaffected and will receive treatment as necessary.

Women giving birth will also be unaffected as appropriate ambulances for maternity will continue to be brought to Rochdale Infirmary throughout the night.

Dr Anton Sinniah, A&E acute physician and clinical director of unscheduled care for Rochdale Infirmary, said: "We have worked closely with our colleagues across our other hospital sites at Oldham and Bury and partner agencies including NWAS to ensure the new arrangements are in place.

“These changes will be monitored carefully to ensure patients are being transferred and treated appropriately at neighbouring local emergency departments.

“This is not a position we wanted to be in, but this situation has become more acute in the last few weeks due to the staffing situation and shortage of doctors, particularly middle grade medical staff in both A&E and Acute Medicine.

Dr Sinniah added: “This is not a decision the Trust has taken lightly but one that has been taken on the grounds of patient safety concerns. The Trust's top priority is patient safety. A decision had to be made; it was the right decision and one I stand by. Patients need not change their existing patterns of access to urgent care as the Infirmary will remain open to walk in patients. 

“The changes made are to minimize disruption to patients whilst maximizing patient safety. We are continuing actively in our attempts to resolve the staffing shortfalls."

Dr Nick Dawes, local GP and medical director at NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, added: "We are assured that Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are doing their utmost to recruit more doctors.

“We must reiterate that patient safety is the utmost importance in this decision. It has been agreed this is the only sustainable way of providing patients with the access to safe services."