Relocation, relocation: perspectives on the spatio-temporal impacts of health services transitions

Document summary

Within the context of an ageing population and the need to sustain hospital budgets, the nature and future of UK healthcare is changing. In the late 2000s, Stafford Hospital in Staffordshire was the centre of substantial public concern over poor care and high mortality rates. The dissolution of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (which ran the hospital) combined with the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust led to the creation of the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust in November 2014. The rebranding of Stafford Hospital (now County Hospital) and the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (now Royal Stoke University Hospital) to eliminate all mention of ‘Staffordshire’ reflects a sense of renewal and reorganisation of services. Despite this, the transfer of a number of services such as consultant-led maternity, acute surgery and inpatient paediatrics services from the County Hospital to Royal Stoke University Hospital has led to substantial public outcry. This paper presents the results from five focus groups highlighting substantial concerns, emotions and implications regarding the spatial and temporal changes to accessing hospital services in Staffordshire. Perspectives towards the spatio-temporal impacts of health services transitions reflected attitudes to, and experiences of, (relocated) services; accessibility and transport; communication and engagement; concern about capacity. Drawing on these results, the paper concludes with a new conceptual framework outlining the perspectives towards the spatio-temporal impacts of health services transitions, and with implications for Trusts seeking to engage service users with changes to local provision.