New county hospital bid
Saturday 21st March 2009, 1:00PM GMT.
Leading NHS experts have called for an immediate feasibility study into whether a new hospital should be built in Shropshire to treat the county’s most seriously ill and injured patients.
The National Clinical Advisory Team, whose members are all respected clinicians, say the report should be commissioned as soon as possible. Shropshire health chiefs confirmed today a study will be carried out.
Its findings are expected in the summer.
The idea of a new hospital – possibly between Shrewsbury and Telford – is included in proposals for a massive overhaul of the way healthcare is delivered in Shropshire over the next five years and up to 2020.
The plans have been drawn up by a forum of the county’s top doctors and nurses and should be ready for public consultation later this year.
But it was decided that the proposals should be reviewed by an independent body – the NCAT – before being taken further.
Jo Chambers, chief executive of Shropshire County Primary Care Trust, said: “The advisory team has looked at what has been suggested, to give an independent view of the issues we have identified and the challenges we face.
“It has largely validated the work we are doing and given helpful suggestions.”
Mrs Chambers said consultants had just been appointed to carry out the feasibility study which would consider what services would need to be provided at a new hospital and the cost of such a project.
Mrs Chambers said that if the hospital was built, it would be treating some of the “most sick” patients in the county requiring intensive care.
But under the proposals, both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital would remain open.
The advisory team, however, has backed the idea of acute surgery being provided at one site and routine care and medical services at the other.
The Shropshire healthcare options suggest A&E units remain at both Shrewsbury and Telford, but one would be identified to deal with the more serious emergencies.
Another proposal to be consulted on is the opening of a maternity unit in north east Shropshire.
By Health Correspondent Dave Morris
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a good idea, we need the construction jobs and we need a more modern hospital for shrewsbury, that site in shrewsbury is shoking, it looks like something from the soviet union all concrete and crumbling, building one half way between telford and shrewsbury to serve the whole county would be emminently sensible, efficiencies on transport and management there, also the land shrewsbury hosptial is on is prime real estate (copthorne) we could solve the housing crisis in one fell swoop for years by getting about5,000 houses on that site, lets do it, it would pay for itself from the sale of houses and give us the modern hospital we deserve
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I totally agree. PRH and RSH are both small hospitals so will always find it difficult to upgrade their services and have enough staff to keep them running through the day and night. Upgrade PRH to serve the whole county and you spend lots of money to make it big enough, and people in the west of the county lose out. Upgrade RSH and it will still cost a lot of money, and people in Telford will not be happy. Avoid making any decision and we’ll all lose out because services will be overstretched and NHS monet will be spent shoring up the hospitals when it could be spent on new drugs, new equipment, services in GP practices and better ambulance services … so put a new hospital somewhere in between the two towns.
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And lets fast forward a few years down the line…….when we’re told that we no longer need 3 hospitals in the county and PRH or RSH will be closed! Just a thought.
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fantastic, more investment in schools and hospitals will create jobs and improve our society, just get it done quick because when cameron gets in, we will see nothing but cuts in the capital budgets especially for health and education
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Building a new hospital in between the towns would be a ridiculous idea. What transport links exist between them? Sure there are decent rail and road links east / west but what about north / south? Significant infrastructure ould be needed and how would it be paid for? Maybe 5000 houses or an eco town could do it and then goodbye to the countryside that exists between the towns and hello to the conurbation of Shrewsford or Telfsbury. Any new hospital should be built in one town or the other its the most sustainable solution.
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“The advisory team, however, has backed the idea of acute surgery being provided at one site and routine care and medical services at the other.”
Great idea! Then if a patient’s health deteriorates or proves to be more serious than first thought, no swift ride in the lift at the RHS or the PRH. No, they’ll have to be driven by ambulance to the acute unit.
Don’t you people ever think?
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it could be a real boon for the economy locally to get this built also it would improve patient care and make ambulances more efficient to meet in the middle, somewhere like Upton Magna, Roden, or around the Wrekin / wrockwardine would seem appropriate???
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good idea but in shropshire it will take 10 years to happen due to planning, just do it, it could be a great scheme
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certainly a mega sized hospital sited somewhere near or on the site of the beet factory, could in time replace existing hospitals in the two towns and could also serve emergency cases from mid wales and staffordshire via air ambulance. a new park and ride serving telford, wellington and shrewsbury via the let us call it royal shropshire hospital would cut down the need for too much parking. in time the two existing hospital sites would in time produce land for housing. while they are building the hospital, they could build a hospice nearby.
some sort of cottage hospital will still be needed in both towns for routine and non emergency treatment. with the right transport links the rsi would be a boon to the whole of shropshire and parts of mid wales, with some funding coming from the welsh assembly. a new park and ride railway station could be built nearby. now is this all pie in the sky, or a means to revolutionising shropshires health care and providing the county with much needed jobs.
after all shropshire is the largest inland county in the country. over to you health secretary!
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nice one lets just do it
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Complete waste of time building a 3rd hospitial. As Telford has a larger population the PRH should be expanded and improved. To fund this the hospital as Shrewsbury should be closed and Shropshire should have a major hospital in Telford.
Transport networks exist between Telford and Shrewsbury whether you travel by road or rail so this would be the ideal solution.
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a welcome idea from my perspective
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I agree with Y mab. Telford has the fastest growing population in the county. Its makes better sense to improve the PRH, that’s were all roads lead.
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but shrewsbury hospital serves all of wales too, so this would be best place to serve all the catchment area geographically speaking
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Danny – Wales should HAVE a hospital in Wales not in England. I would prefer a super hospital in Telford and a hospital for Wales in Wrexham (well the marches area in Wales). With Wales hopefully going for independence in the next 10 years this would seem the most logical option.
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there will still be q’s whilst anything is free of charge there will be a free for all, charge repeat users to prevent hyper condriacts abusing the system i say
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Why not try and get it right at the two shambolic hospitals that we already have, I don’t really see any point sticking another hospital between Shrewsbury and Telford when they are both already have hospitals if a new one to be built put it else where in the county in an area that needs it. Look what happened in Worcester with their Super Hospital Kidderminster and the other hospitals were scaled back and the patient suffers.
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just as well the hospital should be built twixt salop and the suburbs of wolverhampton. if there is to be all this bickering where to site it, it will never be built and our great county will lose out again.
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Y mab – I’d rather keep shrewsbury open than have to spend any quality time in Telford. The place makes me feel quite queasy at the best of times, could do without that when I’m ill. Plus I’d always be worrying that my car might be broken into.
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