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Rochdale Infirmary beds moved due to fire risk

14/11/2007

Emergency GP referral patients in north Manchester have been told they can no longer be treated at Rochdale Infirmary.

A fire risk assessment has deemed that patients who cannot walk unaided are not allowed to remain on an upstairs ward at Rochdale.

Almost 40 emergency beds have been moved to Fairfield Hospital in Bury, according to Pennine Acute NHS Trust.

John Saxby, chief executive of Pennine Acute Trust, said: "This option has enabled us to keep as many of the services at the infirmary as possible, while transferring others to Fairfield.

"We are opening extra beds at Fairfield and moving staff across, so patients and their families will have the assurance that the support will be there."

However, the trust has assured the public that emergency ambulance patients will still go to Rochdale.

In September, the maternity unit at Rochdale Infirmary was shut for a short period after a cockroach infestation was discovered.

Rochdale Infirmary transferred patients to Fairfield Hospital while fumigators tackled the problem.