The consultation on proposals to reconfigure hospital services has begun. 

The NHS’ plans, called Future Fit, have cited staff shortages and recruitment problems in specifying the need to concentrate planned care at one of its hospitals and emergency care at the other. 

We do not accept their preferred option which would see the Princess Royal Hospital lose its new £28million Consultant led Women and Children’s Centre and 24 hour A&E. 

There were compelling clinical reasons for bringing the Women and Children’s Centre to Telford: 

• Two-thirds of woman admitted to this centre live closer to the Princess Royal Hospital.
• There are more complicated births and a generally younger population in Telford and Wrekin and east Shropshire. 
• Moving this centre back to Shrewsbury would be a u-turn on a decision made only a few years ago. 

For me, losing the Women and Children’s Centre from Telford is a red line which we cannot cross. 

We favour the second option in the consultation. Option 2 would retain at the Princess Royal Hospital the vital services such as those in the Women and Children’s Centre that Telford and east Shropshire need.

The older population who need planned care live on the opposite side of the county. Option 2 would provide the rest of Shropshire and our neighbours in mid Wales with Shrewsbury as a more accessible place for their planned operations. 

Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin together with Mid Wales have been told they have £312million to spend on hospitals. Please be aware that this money isn’t a grant, it would be a loan. 

Part of this loan would be made-up of PFI-type money. OUR preferred option, Option 2, would cost the NHS less - £62 million pounds less.

Option 2 would also save at least an extra £3.3million a year in debt repayments. Just think of what else the NHS could get for that. 

They could spend it on more doctors and nurses, even a second state of the art cancer centre without having to resort to voluntary fundraising for it. 

This is your time to have your say and support Option 2.

Join our campaign for a better NHS for everybody

Over the next few weeks we will be updating this blog with news and information about the Future Fit consultation and our campaign and making our case for why we think that Option 2 is better for all.

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