A group of Shropshire’s top doctors and nurses have been reviewing health services on behalf of the county’s four NHS trusts, writes Health Correspondent Dave Morris.
Today the clinical leaders’ forum, as it is known, revealed its vision of how health services can be improved and delivered.
I believe there is much to be commended but the public view - particulalry in the Telford & Wrekin area - is likely to be far less welcoming.
Although group’s ideas are very much focused on the next five years, it will also continue to work on longer term plans for 2020 and beyond.
I have no doubt that its vision, if carried through by the trusts, will benefit the lives of many thousands of people across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
For example, there is strong emphasis on promoting healthier lifestyles, helping people to improve the quality of their life, prevent disease and live longer.
There are calls too for more services to be provided closer to the home of patients, giving more help to those with long-term conditions so that they can lead an independent life.
Minor surgery, outpatient appointments and many types of scans will increasingly take place in GP surgeries and community hospitals.
But the group says that in order to ensure inpatient children servcies are safe and sustainable in the future, they will need to be provided at either the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or Princess Royal, and not both as at present.
The two A&E units will remain, but one will have a lesser role.
These issues will occupy the thoughts of many members of the public and politcians in Telford & Wrekin. There has long been a feeling in the borough that the Princess Royal will receive a kicking from any service changes.
At this time it well worth recalling a recent warning sounded by Tom Taylor, boss of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, that children’s inpatient services could be lost completely to a centre out of the county if there was another “enormous row” over where they should be sited.
“There is a real danger,” he said.
One Comment
May i first of all comment on Tom Taylors ‘threat’ that childrens services could be lost all together if another ‘row’ were to break out ? surely he doesn’t expect people to roll over and accept such drastic downgrading of local NHS services ? Freedom of speech and public consultation is an important factor when deciding on such radical changes and shouldnt cause proffesionals such as the directors of the NHS to simply throw their teddies out of the pram because people disagree. That sort of thing should be left to childrens playgrounds. Now to the nitty gritty. We all know that childrens services are going to close at Telford Hospital, the report suggests that the childrens service will be at either one of the sites, they may as well announce it will be at Shrewsbury as many months of consultations to close services at Telford have been ongoing. Of course it will be sold to us that resuscitation services for seriousely ill children will still be available at Telford( before transportation 20miles to the childrens ward). It seems that these steps will be a 20yr backward step for the NHS. Why was it that they bothered building the hospital in the first place 20 odd years ago ? they thought back then that childrens services were needed but all of a sudden 20yrs later its going to be lost. Why are these changes required ? i second guess that it is because of the financial turmoil the trust is in ? not a good enough reason to me to shut down such a vital service. Then of course where does it stop ? Once childrens has gone then roll on the break up of the rest of the key services. A&E at Telford hospital treats around 60,000 patients a year. I guess the downgrading of the department to a minor injuries unit will be to force patients to use there GP services better and try and put people off attending by making them travel 20 miles to the nearest A&E. A very strange way of ‘improving’ services in one of the UK’s fastest growing towns. All i can say on this issue is look at the downgrading of KIDDERMINSTER HOSPITAL !! It happened there and it WILL happen in Telford. So why not develop the services at Telford instead of Shrewsbury. Well again im only guessing but i would imagine the people of Telford and surrounding areas will be suffering due to the poor medical services available to the people of Wales, without services at Shrewsbury then sick and injured patients in mid wales would not have any hospital to go to ! So how much money is it all going to save ? i would be interested to see after off setting the cost of having to double if not triple Ambulance and Paramedic provisions in Telford. With all major patients going to Shrewsbury then there will be no Ambulance cover left to respond to 999 calls. The fact of the matter is that people are going to be put at risk ! children will be put at risk and there is no denying that,unfortunately i guess the decision has been made and the axe has been sharpened and ready to fall. People will and are going to die due to this ‘re-configuration’. We will have to accept that. But please Mr Taylor, do not undermine people by threatening to pull the plug on everything if they row about it. You should be proud that people in this area are passionate about their hospital and are willing to stand up and fight for what they deserve. If you had the money im sure this wouldnt be happening and im sure you would be bringing in more A&E staff not getting rid of them by not renewing there contract as well as not de-banding the nursing staff. So if that is the case it seems its all about money ! not all about the patient.
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