On the 24th January I had the honour of visiting St. George’s Hospital in Stafford and having a tour of its fantastic facilities, alongside new MP for Stafford, Theo Clarke, and Councillor Ann Edgeller.
On arrival, we met with Neil Carr, Chief Executive; Alison Bussey, Director of Nursing; and Jennie Collier, Managing Director of the Staffordshire Care Group. After coffee and breakfast, we were given a brief presentation about St. George’s, a new facility called Redwoods and the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
We were then given the opportunity to visit two wards. The first was the Brocton Ward for acute adult inpatient mental health issues, where we were shown around by Ward Manager, Lisa Woodard. The second was the Baswich Ward for older inpatients, where Nurse Consultant, Natalie Bradbury and Ward Sister, Sue Collins, met with us, discussed their roles and the wider work of the ward.
Following these visits, we travelled to the new facility, Redwoods, where were treated to a lovely lunch. During lunch we had the pleasure of meeting Alison Blofield, Nurse Consultant; Dr Rajesh Sulake; Sarah Oliver, quality governance lead, acute; Mike Ford, inpatient manager; Sue Edwards, quality governance older people; and Cathy Riley, Managing Director, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Care Group.
The three of us were then show around the Oak Ward, an inpatient ward specifically designed for older adults with dementia, and the Pine Ward, an acute adult inpatient mental health ward.
I would like to thank everyone at St. George’s and Redwoods for such an informative and inspirational visit. All members of staff at both facilities work tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of their patients and their families and I would like to say thank you for providing such an essential service to the people of Staffordshire.