Fears have been raised of a new “turf war” between Shrewsbury and Telford which could lead to Shropshire losing hospital services.

The warning was sounded by Shropshire Council member David Lloyd last night at the second of a series of Question Time-style public meetings to discuss proposals to change the way health services are delivered at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.

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Under the proposals, women and children’s services would be concentrated at Telford, with acute inpatient abdominal surgery consolidated at Shrewsbury.

The RSH site would also see the creation of a vascular surgical centre and both hospitals would keep an A&E unit.

Health chiefs and leading clinicians claim that changes are necessary to keep services in Shropshire and ensure they are safe and sustainable.

Concerns expressed last night in Oswestry mainly centred on the need to keep the children’s cancer unit and full range of paediatric services at the RSH.

But Adam Cairns,chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, said the maternity and paediatric services building was in a poor condition and “not fit for purpose”.

Councillor Lloyd, in voicing his worries over possible rivalry between Shrewsbury and Telford, said Shropshire had already lost some speciality services and warned if a solution could not be found to current problems, others would be lost.

Oswestry mother-of-three Amy Jones said two of her children suffered from severe asthma and there had been occasions when an ambulance had been needed to take them to Shrewsbury for emergency treatment.

How, she asked, could it be in the best interests of such children or others, to have to travel an extra 15 miles “in the middle of the night” to Telford.

But consultant obstetrician Andrew Tapp, clinical director of women and children’s services, said there would still be a paediatric assessment unit open at Shrewsbury until late evening and there would be doctors capable of looking after children at the A&E unit.

There were questions too about why the hospital trust had allowed the building at Shrewsbury to deteriorate.

Mr Cairns said the trust had not had the money to invest.

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris