Council leader frustrated at Health Secretary’s position on PRH A&E
Telford & Wrekin Council’s leader, Kuldip Sahota, has expressed frustration over the Secretary of State for Health’s contradictory comments over the future of A&E at the Princess Royal Hospital.
Councillor Sahota has repeatedly written to Jeremy Hunt MP asking for guarantees on the future of the A&E service.
The Health Secretary has continued to refuse to offer any reassurances since the Health Trust announced last year that two full time A&E departments in Telford and Shropshire might not be sustainable.
Last autumn, Telford & Wrekin Council unanimously backed a motion that committed to retain a full 24-hour A&E service at the PRH in Telford last autumn.
Councillor Sahota wrote to Jeremy Hunt MP again last month after the Secretary of State for Health made comments to the local press during a visit to the borough in February that there were no plans to close either the A&E at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or PRH.
However, the Health Secretary has now replied again to Cllr Sahota and declined to make any such commitment saying any decision was a matter for the NHS locally.
Councillor Sahota said: “I am extremely disappointed and frustrated that the Health Secretary, less than a month after being reported in local media as saying there are no plans close the PRH’s A&E, has again refused to offer me any guarantees on the future of A&E services at the PRH.
“Retaining full 24/7 services at the PRH is vital for the growing local community and I will continue to fight for this.”
