Labour MP David Wright has told Parliament that he is “sick and tired” of constant reviews of hospital services in Shropshire and demanded that key departments must be concentrated in the area of fastest population growth – Telford.

He told the Commons on Wednesday night that, in the longer term beyond 2020, “we will have to look at the idea of developing a new emergency hospital between Telford and Shrewsbury”.

This would mean the Princess Royal and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals being retained to deliver other services.

“I know that my proposal is controversial, but it would put to bed forever the argument that rages in the county between the two towns,” said Mr Wright.

Opening a half-hour debate on health services in Telford, he welcomed the improvements to GP and other other primary services in the town.

But he said, in light of proposals to give major trauma accident and emergency services as well as in-patient children’s services to one of the two district general hospitals, that Telford should not be the one to lose out.

“To put it bluntly, I am pretty sick and tired of continual reviews of our local hospital services – a view that I am sure Telford residents would endorse and that local health service workers share.

“We seem to have the same discussions year after year, it must be costing a fortune.”

Mr Wright said the latest review did not take away the “excellent” Princess Royal Hospital, “but I am going to fight to get the best deal that I can for local people because I know how important that hospital is”.

He said Telford was the largest population centre in the county and had the largest number of people in its catchment area, even when Montgomeryshire, whose patients go to the Royal Shrewsbury, was taken into account.

“Services should not be based on how the county looked 50 years ago or even 10 years ago – they should be based on how it looks now and how it is going to look.

“If that means moving services to focus on Telford, then so be it,” Mr Wright told the Commons.

Responding to the debate, health minister Dawn Primarolo said it was paramount that there should be adequate A&E coverage across the county.

“No decision had been taken about the future direction of health services in Telford, and there are no current plans to close local A&E services,” said the minister.

By London Editor John Hipwood