More emergency patients will be treated at Lister Hospital after major changes implemented on Monday.

The A&E department at the Stevenage site is now busier after a decision to stop admitting seriously injured children over 12-months-old at any time and adults overnight to the QEII Hospital in Welwyn GC.

The QEII continues to treat emergency adult cases from 8am to 8pm, while a minor injury service is open to all 24 hours a day.

Before Monday around 40 patients attended the QEII nightly between 8pm and 8am, of whom around 14 were admitted.

The East and North Herts NHS Trust which brought in the changes said allowing for the centralisation of stroke, cardiology and surgical procedures at the hospital since October, the Stevenage site can expect four or five additional admitted patients overnight.

A spokesman for the trust said staff are “ready to cope” with the extra patients with changes to rotas across the two sites “ensuring we have resources in place”.

Nick Carver, trust chief executive, said it was too soon to make a full assessment, “but we will continue to monitor the situation carefully and would like to thank our doctors and nurses for all their support through the changes.”

The move is part of a �150m scheme to make Lister the main emergency and inpatient hospital in the area.