Telford & Wrekin Council leader urges public to Save Our Hospitals

Councilllor Eade also said that the Council would support the planned changes to hospital services provided he received certain guarantees from health bosses.

“This is not a Telford issue or a Shrewsbury issue, it is a Shropshire issue. I know that what we are looking at is not ideal but we have two hospitals that will have to operate as one hospital on two sites,” said Councillor Eade.

“If we don’t back these proposals, we will lose services which will go outside the county – meaning people will have to travel further.

“We have to create a health model for the population and demographic that we have now rather than the one we had 40 or 50 years ago.”

Councillor Eade said he wanted to ensure that future accident and emergency provision on both the Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital sites would be safe and sustainable.

He also demanded a promise that Telford would not keep having to fight to save the Princess Royal Hospital every time there is a review of health services.

Telford & Wrekin Council’s political groups are together urging people who use the hospitals to take part in the consultation and for people to be fully aware of what is at stake to protect services in the county.

People can also give their views www.ournhsinshropshireandtelford.nhs.uk and need to do so by 14 March.

Councillor Eade added: “If you go back to the beginning of this, we said we had a line in the sand beyond which we would not budge.

“That line in the sand was a full accident and emergency facility on both the Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital sites. We also wanted an equitable division of other services on both sites.

“Although the ideal is a hospital in the middle, but that is very much a red herring that is simply not viable or affordable.

“We know that acute surgery is a core service to lose but we have to swallow hard and accept that as part of the proposals to keep our hospital services in the county.

“The one other concern I have is on the accident and emergency side. We have to ensure that the accident and emergency cover is safe and sustainable on both sites and we need this guarantee in tablets of stone.

“We fought long and hard to get our hospital built in Telford and Wrekin but it seems every few years we end up in a fight to save it. That clearly has to stop and stop now.”

The meeting at Telford’s Holiday Inn was part of a series of public consultation sessions organised by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

It was attended by more than 300 people and gave members of the public the opportunity to quiz those in charge of the health review on the reasons for their current proposals.

Telford & Wrekin Council has already launched the Save Our Hospitals campaign to help protect services at the two acute hospitals that serve the area – with the likelihood that those services would be taken out of the county if what’s on the table is not agreed.

The consultation proposes some key changes to the way hospital services are organised and would see both hospitals gain some key services from the other.

Failure to agree a way forward could mean changes being imposed on the area without any regard to local people’s view.

It could also follow that the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust would be taken over by another Trust outside the area such as Stafford, Stoke or Wolverhampton and see key services moving away to these centres.

People can also give their views at www.ournhsinshropshireandtelford.nhs.uk and need to do so by 14 March.

The proposals to reconfigure services at the area’s two main hospitals include:

The creation of a women and children’s centre at PRH. Head and Neck services would also relocate to PRH – this is because a high volume of ENT cases are procedures for children.

The creation of an acute surgery centre at RSH, for acute inpatient vascular surgery, colorectal surgery and upper gastro-intestinal surgery – patients who need access to emergency surgery at PRH would be provided for through a senior non-resident on call team of experienced surgeons. Other acute surgery will be transferred to RSH or dealt with through urgent outpatient and day case on the PRH site.

Medical patients would as now access services on both sites.

Both hospitals would continue to offer outpatient services, day case surgery, midwife led maternity, emergency and inpatient orthopaedic surgery and 24-hour A&E

You can keep in touch with the Council’s Save Our Hospitals campaign online at www.telford.gov.uk/saveourhospitals.