The consultation on proposals to reconfigure hospital services, including those at the Princess Royal Hospital is well underway.

It's been extended by a week which means you have until 11 September to have your say.

The NHS’ plan called Future Fit wants to have planned care at one of Shropshire’s two main hospitals and emergency care at the other. The Future Fit preference is for emergency care to be based at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Cllr Shaun Davies, Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “The future of hospital services is in your hands. We are distributing the survey to every home in the borough because this is such an important issue. We want as many people as possible to have their say.”

“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 full 24-hour A&E.

“We favour the second option in the consultation.

“Option 2 would mean the Princess Royal Hospital keeps the vital services such as those at the Women and Children’s Centre that Telford and east Shropshire need.

“Option 2 would also mean shorter average emergency travel times because the full 24-hour A&E would be at Telford – a journey most will make by ambulance.”

“Option 2 would provide the rest of Shropshire and our neighbours in mid Wales with Shrewsbury as a more accessible place for planned operations. This is better for those who find it difficult to drive to their planned operations, such as older people.

“Option 2 would cost the NHS £62 million less. Option 2 would also save at least an extra £3.3 million a year in debt repayments. The NHS could spend this saving on more doctors and nurses, even a second state-of-the-art cancer centre without having to resort to voluntarily fundraising for it.

“This is your time to have your say. This is now about much more than protecting services at the Princess Royal Hospital. This is about making the right decision to everybody in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and mid Wales.

“Option 2 is better for everybody. I urge you to complete the consultation and support Option 2.”

Look out for the delivery of the survey, or complete it online at www.nhsfuturefit.org