Shropshire health chiefs are being forced to rethink plans for concentrating some services on one site and building a new hospital by 2020.

They have been warned, along with the rest of the NHS, that because of the country’s economic problems, there is going to be a severe cash squeeze on major capital projects. The county’s health trusts have been working on proposals for vascular and emergency surgery and inpatient paediatrics.

It is proposed to concentrate vascular and emergency surgery and inpatient paediatrics at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or Telford’s Princess Royal.

The proposals, expected to be the subject of a formal public consultation later this year, have caused huge public protests in Telford & Wrekin amid fears that the Princess Royal is going to be downgraded.

Consultation is now very much dependent on what sort of alternative proposals are drawn up or whether a way is found of going ahead with current plans despite far less funding being available.

Doubts had already been cast that Shropshire would ever see a new hospital built because of the huge cost involved, possibly as much as £400 million.

The chairmen and chief executives of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, Shropshire County Primary Care and NHS Telford and Wrekin, met last month with regional bosses to discuss the way forward.

The matter will be discussed next week by the hospital and Shropshire County PCT trust boards.

Jo Chambers, PCT chief executive, says in a report to her board on Tuesday: “It is clear that, as with all public services, the economic context in which the work is taking place has changed significantly and this must be reflected in the plans that are being developed.”

She says health partners should work on the basis of “nil or minimal” capital resources in the short and medium term, and review their plans in the light of this.

Mrs Chambers adds: “Clear plans for the challenged specialties of inpatient paediatrics, vascular surgery and emergency surgery, need to be produced rapidly, risk assessed, robustly tested and jointly agreed.”

• Some disabled parking spaces at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be unavailable early next week. The spaces will be unavailable outside the ward block at the hospital on Monday and Tuesday while maintenance work is carried out on new windows.

By Dave Morris