Doubts cast over future of Stafford's A&E in health reviewpublished at 11:00 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2017
Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke
Further doubt has been cast over the future of Stafford's A&E, as health bosses say services in the town need to better meet the needs of patients.
All local health and care providers in England are putting together five-year sustainability and transformation plans to make savings.
In Staffordshire, proposals to save £542m, revealed last month, suggested one of the county's three emergency departments be turned into an Urgent Care Centre.
There are lots of people who think it'll be Stafford and, at a meeting to discuss the proposals yesterday, health managers said they want services in the future that better meet the needs of the town's changing population.
Officials say any specific areas of the plans will go out to public consultation, with decisions not being taken until the end of 2017.
Quote MessageWhat we want to look at is how we can provide 24/7 services across the patch that may not say A&E on but will still provide the range of services some of the A&E department provides."
Andy Donald, Chief Officer, Stafford and Surrounds Clinical Commissioning Group