Fears Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital could be downgraded — revealed exclusively in a letter to the Shropshire Star — were greeted with widespread condemnation today.

The letter, written by Telford & Wrekin Borough Council leader Councillor Andrew Eade, has been sent to Tom Taylor, chief executive of the Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury NHS Hospitals Trust and Simon Connolly, chief executive of Telford and Wrekin Primary Care Trust.

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Conservative MP for the Wrekin Mark Pritchard said: “I will fight these proposals all the way. I have warned about the removal of these services from Telford for seven years, despite denials by the acute trust.

“Telford and East Shropshire have some of the youngest population in the county and paediatrics is a fundamental necessity.

“Any removal of 24-hour emergency services will put lives at risk.

“On Saturday I was coming from a function in Shrewsbury and I could see blue lights flashing ahead. I slowed down and saw someone being treated in the back of an ambulance and I turned to my wife and said ‘that is why we need 24-hour emergency services in Telford’.

“We must not forget that we are the largest, landlocked county in England,” said Mr Pritchard, who has collected 10,000 names on a petition opposing any downgrading of the PRH.

Telford MP Mr Wright said: “I have spoken to Tom Taylor today and he tells me that no decision has been taken.

“Any options for the future of services ought to go out for public consultation.

“I understand that no changes would take place for some considerable time but I will be fighting tooth and nail to protect services at the PRH.”

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, today blamed the Government for stretching health services in Shropshire past breaking point but said it was imperative that the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was given priority status.

He said: “The Government is trying to make cutbacks in Shropshire, as it always has, and it is letting Shropshire down very badly, not just in health but in other areas such as education.

“It’s another example of how this Government has failed the people of Shropshire, but if it is true then my priority is the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

“We are the county town and the most important centre in the county. If any resources are to be protected then they must always be at the RSH.

“Ideally I would like to see diverse health services throughout the county and we should be in a position where we are expanding healthcare services, not taking them away.

“The ludicrous position of the Government is that on one hand they are targeting Shropshire for increases in housing and bringing more people in with more affordable housing, while on the other hand they are making cutbacks on facilities which is going to put a strain on already stretched resources.”

David Tipton, chairman of Apley-based Listen and Care, a self-help group catering for people with severe mental health problems, said: “People who suffer mental health problems usually have less resistance to serious illness so acute services are of importance to us.

“If there was any major downgrading of the PRH it would be of great concern to us as we need to keep our people as close to home as possible, without moving more services to Shrewsbury. We have just had one person come back from the PRH and we were saying how busy the hospital was,” he added.

Mr Tipton said he would support any campaign to keep acute services at the Princess Royal.

Shropshire Council spokesman Simon Alton said: “The authority feels it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.”

Keith Austin, leader of the Labour group on Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “Obviously, I’m staggered that they have made such a move, if it is correct.

“There again, I understood myself from inquiries I made late yesterday afternoon that some papers are going to the PCT next week detailing plans to move services on clinical safety grounds.

“I find it staggering they can use that terminology at a time when Telford is growing.

“We as a group will certainly be supporting moves to keep PRH at its present level of service and for it to be extended when the population increases.”

Leader of the council’s Liberal Democrats, Councillor Bill Tomlinson, said: “We as a group are aghast at this because we want as many of the hospital services there are currently at the PRH to cover the population of East Shropshire.

“I have experience of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital but, while the service was very good, I went in a car and that was hassle enough. For those who have to use public transport it will be an utter nightmare.”

Alan Millward, chairman of the PRH’s league of friends, said: “We will fight this all the way. We don’t want acute services to go.

“They apparently held a meeting in Telford last week for ‘invited guests’ to discuss A&E but we weren’t told anything about it or invited. We only found out via the back door.”

Dr Roger Henderson, senior partner of Linden Hall Surgery in Newport and Muxton Surgery, said his 12,000 patients would be hit by the move.

“The vast majority of my secondary work load is through the Princess Royal Hospital and many patients would struggle to go geographically further and there’s active concern among my patients that services might be lost. I want to see the services remain as they are.”

Member of Newport & District Disabled Club, Nip Halldearn, said: “This would be horrible for us.

“We all use the Princess Royal Hospital because it is easier to get to, so we would not like to see anything taken away from it.

“All of our members use the hospital, it would not be good for us.”

By Simon Hardy and Jason Lavan