Beds reopened at Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital to stop 'perfect storm'
Mothballed beds will be reopened and a major recruitment drive has been launched to combat a "perfect storm" at Shropshire's orthopaedic hospital.
Staff shortages saw the number of operations carried out at the Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital drop in December, affecting both its financial and operational targets.
At the end of December the hospital was £664,000 in deficit, £193,000 behind plan.
Bosses have said they have now got a grip on the problems and a range of measures were in place to ensure the hospital hits it targets by the end of the financial year.
A ward will be re-opened in the next few weeks to help boost the hospital's occupancy figures, providing an initial eight extra beds.
Frank Collins, chairman of the NHS trust that runs the hospital, said the next two months would be hard work.
"There is no doubt that we are facing the perfect storm," he said.
Problems hit the hospital in December when it failed to reach its targets for the number of planned operations.
Medical director Steve White said lack of staff and annual leave and sickness were the main reasons.
He said the hospital had now recruited three new consultants and recruitment was continuing.
In an attempt to improve waiting list figures three spinal surgery "super lists" were arranged for patients with complicated spinal problems who had been waiting for a long time for their operation.
In a report to the trust board meeting deputy chief executive, John Grinnell said that surgery did not meet planned targets in December.
He said day case surgery was 67 patients less than had been planned and the number of outpatients was 1,275 rather than 1,451.
Mr Grinnell said: "We are planning to re-open Kenyon Ward in February with, initially eight more beds."
Mr Collins said that all these factors combined meant that December had not been a good month for the hospital.
"It was not our finest hour. However we now have a grip on the problems and it looks like January will be a better month.
"We now have two months before the end of the financial year to recover and ensure that we can remain on target."
Mark Brandreth, chief executive of Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said the hospital remained frustrated at the national tariffs for orthopaedic surgery which were a challenge.
