MP welcomes cash for Shropshire’s health care system, but warns it’s not enough
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has welcomed the Government’s announcement to provide additional funding for Shropshire Council’s social care commitments, but has warned it will not be enough to relieve the extreme pressure on the health service this winter.
The local authority has been awarded a sum of £653,945 to assist its struggling emergency departments, by increasing the numbers of patients discharged who could be cared for at home. This should help free up space in the hospitals.
The MP has welcomed this money, but, having campaigned for better care in the county since she was elected, warns this is far from enough to relieve the pressure on the health service for constituents this winter.
The Integrated Care Board has asked the public to avoid attending A & E if possible, blaming issues with discharging patients for the long waits for care there. On Friday Helen visited the West Midlands Ambulance Service Control Centre to understand better how the staff there deal with the immense pressures across the region.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said:
“I am glad to see the Government has taken my calls for support seriously, and is providing emergency funding to help discharge patients who can be cared for at home.
“At my visit to the ambulance control centre last week, I saw first-hand just how ambulances queueing outside Emergency Departments can bring chaos to the service, and cause huge distress for those waiting for urgent help.
“In the last few months the Government has woken up to the crisis in emergency care services for my constituents, but additional beds for patients are not expected to be operational until January, and today’s new funding will barely touch the sides of Shropshire’s social care problem.
“With Shrewsbury, Telford, and Wrekin ICB already deterring constituents from using A & E services, the Government must address the crisis of retention and recruitment at every level of the health care sector if we are to see any real improvement.”
