Service changes take place at RSH and PRH hospitals
This week will see changes to Head and Neck inpatient services at Shropshire’s two main hospitals in Telford and Shrewsbury.
From today all Head and Neck inpatient services, where patients have to stay overnight, will be based at the Princess Royal Hospital.
The change means that all Ear Nose and Throat and Maxillo-Facial inpatient services will take place at the Princess Royal Hospital. All planned surgery on children will also take place at Princess Royal Hospital from today.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust says most patients who visit the two hospitals, will not be affected by the changes. Head and Neck outpatient clinic appointments will continue to take place at both hospitals and in local community hospitals as they do now.
Dental outpatient services, both adult and children’s audiology and Day Surgery for Head and Neck patients will also continue to take place at both hospitals. Emergency surgery for children will continue to take place at both hospitals until 2014, when children’s inpatient services are consolidated at the Princess Royal Hospital.
Steve Peak, Interim Chief Executive, said: “This is the latest in a series of changes we are making to our hospitals so that we can continue to provide the very best health services to patients from across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales.”
The changes from today will also include improved facilities at the PRH, including en-suite rooms and an Intermediate Care Area for patients who require a greater level of clinical support than on the general head and neck ward.
Mr Andrew Prichard, Consultant ENT Surgeon and Centre Chief for the Head and Neck Centre, said: “I hope that patients will be delighted with our new head and neck inpatient facilities at PRH. By moving our inpatient service to Telford, we are in a prime location for when the new Women and Children’s Unit opens here in 2014. Our Head and Neck outpatient appointments will still take place at both hospitals.”
Work has on building the new Women and Children’s Unit at the Princess Royal Hospital , which will open in summer 2014 has already begun. Later in the year work will start on improving women and children’s services at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
The full business case for the changes was approved earlier this year by the Board of the regional health authority, NHS Midlands and East and follows extensive local review and scrutiny from the Primary Care Trust Cluster, Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and GPs in Clinical Commissioning Groups.
