Extra funding to create more hospital beds in Shropshire
Shropshire is to get 52 extra hospital beds as part of £250 million in Government funding to help treat patients more quickly this winter.
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin NHS ICB will be receiving £21.4 million from the new emergency care fund to combat delays which are the worst in England at A&E.
The new beds will be split across Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS sites – Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) at Telford and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH).
The split will see Twenty new beds will be created at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital whilst 32 beds will be delivered at the Princess Royal Hospital in a modular ward.
The funding is part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery plan published in January, aimed at tackling waiting times by creating create new beds in urgent and emergency care services.
Across England, nine hundred new hospital beds will be delivered to relieve pressures and help cut waiting lists.
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
"Cutting waiting lists is one of my top 5 priorities, so this year the government has started planning for winter earlier than ever before and the public can be reassured we are backing the NHS with the resources it needs.
"These 900 new beds will mean more people can be treated quickly, speeding up flow through hospitals and reducing frustratingly long waits for treatment.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said:
"We know that winter is a difficult time so we’re working to get ahead of pressures while also creating a sustainable NHS fit for the future. That’s why we’re investing this £250 million to support NHS capacity and deliver 900 new beds, as part of our drive to put in place 5,000 permanent additional beds."
Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Executive said:
"Winter is always a busy time for the NHS and so it is right that we put robust plans in place as early as possible to boost capacity and help frontline staff to prepare for additional pressure.
"Our winter plans, which build on the progress already made on our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, aim to reduce waiting times for patients and to transform services with an expansion of same day care and virtual wards, helping patients to be cared for in their own home where possible."
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan, who has campaigned to improve emergency care in the county since her election, has welcomed the news but said investment from the Government was long overdue.
Helen Morgan MP said:
“Shropshire’s catastrophic A&E waiting times are the worst in the country and investment from the Government to begin improving the service is long overdue.
“We’ve been campaigning hard to raise this issue in Parliament since day one, and fighting hard to get Shropshire’s NHS the support it needs to properly function. The new emergency care plan is a welcome start - even if it is months or years later than it should have been.
“I’ll be working hard to monitor progress and keep pushing to save our NHS and get Shropshire residents the high-quality service they deserve.”
South Shropshire MP, Philip Dunne, has also welcomed the government’s decision to fund additional hospital beds in Shropshire.
Mr Dunne said:
“I am very pleased the government is investing more money in Shropshire’s NHS, providing an additional 52 beds for our hospitals in Telford and Shrewsbury.
"This is a welcome boost to capacity as we look to get waiting lists down, and prepare for the winter ahead.”
Dr Julia Buckley, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Shrewsbury & Atcham and Leader of Shropshire Labour Group said:
"Whilst I join the other local political leaders in welcoming the £21.4m for 52 additional hospital beds in Shropshire, unfortunately, this still doesn’t offer us any long-term solutions to the NHS crisis.
"Nationally the Government has announced a total of 900 hospital beds, but this represents just 7% of the 12,000 beds they have cut since 2010. It's a sticking plaster that is nowhere near the fundamental reform and investment that the NHS needs.
"Once again Shropshire ICB is being offered a short-term pot of money. Whereas what the NHS needs, locally and nationally, is serious long-term investment. And there's another very practical problem, of course. The NHS has a 10% vacancy rate now, after 13 years of Conservative mismanagement and low wages.
"Money for a few more beds locally is great, but recruiting nurses to provide care for the patients who will use them - that's going to be a major challenge, and one we have been grappling with now for several years in our local hospitals. We will need reassurance on all these aspects in order to fully appreciate the benefit of this targeted funding for our patients.
"I join the Royal College of Nursing in expressing concern that bed investment must be matched with staff investment. Our NHS staff are our most precious resource and they should be treated as such, to retain the talent and skill in the workforce."
