'We deserve better' - councillors frustrated as Shropshire hospital plans confirmed
Telford's emergency care is being moved to Shrewsbury.
Last updated 4th Jan 2024
Plans that will move Telford's A&E to Shrewsbury will go ahead, the government has confirmed.
The Future Fit proposals downgrade the emergency department at the Princess Royal Hospital and move the consultant-led women and children's services to the Royal Shrewsbury.
Councillor Paul Watling, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Transformation (Labour) said: “When residents were consulted on Future Fit plans in 2018, 2 in 3 people disagreed with moving emergency care to Shrewsbury. They were ignored.
“We have done everything we can to get the government to sit up and listen to Telford and Wrekin’s residents on this issue, delivering over 20,000 signatures right to the door of No 10 Downing Street and challenging the outdated plans with the latest data.
“The government’s decision is bad news for people in our borough. We deserve better.”
An independent panel is warning Telford should no longer be called an A&E because it "is a risk to patient understanding and safety."
Professor Sir Norman Williams, Chair of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel said: “The panel shares the view of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that the use of the term A&E for anything other than a Type 1 emergency department presents a risk to patient understanding and safety."
Leader of the council, Shaun Davies (Labour), said: “I would like to thank the panel for their work in re-looking at Future Fit plans and for the new recommendations they have made.
“Their advice recognises the need for further capital funding for our hospital buildings and to ensure residents are involved in the development of transport and travel plans to improve access to both sites.
“It also calls for the use of the term A&E Local to stop. The Princess Royal will be left with an enhanced urgent treatment centre. You can’t call something an A&E if it isn’t one. It’s confusing for people and potentially dangerous if they go to the wrong place expecting to receive the emergency care they need.”
You can read the recommendations in full here.
The hospital trust says it supports the best way forward to improved services.