Ex-chief calls for a single-site Shropshire hospital
Saturday 5th February 2011, 11:29AM GMT.
A former key player in the Shropshire NHS is calling for the county to have a single-site district general hospital.
David Sandbach claims that the current two-site system of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is inefficient, expensive and an inpediment to delivering more and better health care.
He has prepared a detailed response to proposed changes to the way services are delivered at the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal hospitals.
Mr Sandbach, a former chief executive of the Princess Royal, is sending copies of his analysis to MPs, council leaders and the county’s health trusts.
He claims that a single-site hospital could provide the population with between £67.8 million and £82.3 million worth of extra health care. Mr Sandbach is also critical of the approach taken by the trusts to consultation and what he feels is a “lack of openness”.
He questions the estimated £60 million cost for rebuilding the maternity unit at Shrewsbury.
Mr Sandbach said: “I want the powers that be to listen to me because the plan I have proposed will improve the quality of the hospital service and is the ideal supported by all their clinical staff.”
He said that ideally he would place a hospital in between Shrewsbury and Telford.
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Oh great – now we can spend the next 20 years arguing about whether any new hospital should be in Telford or Shrewsbury.
The ideal site would have to be half way between the existing buildings, with easy access onto the road system, regular public transport including its own railway station off the Shrewsbury-Birmingham line.
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He is absolutely right – but even prior to the last election there were neither funds nor plans for a new hospital anywhere in England in the next ten years
We don’t live in the ideal world, and must make the best of what we have
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Which will close and which will have the benefit of a hospital on it’s doorstep? And on the other hand a hospital that will be a possible 12 miles away at what could be at a critical distance for some in a life saving situation.
Whatever the closure plans we all know be Telford.
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I have a great deal of respect for David Sandbach having worked with him at the award winning Princess Royal Hospital before its merger with the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and although I feel he is right in recommending a radical solution, it is unlikely that NHS finances would support his one site option.The money simply isn’t available. Following the merger of the two hospitals,instead of the excellent management which existed at PRH reinvigorating Shrewsbury, the opposite happened with standards dropping whilst non-clinical staffing levels and debt grew. There is no doubt that Shropshire hospitals are drinking in the last chance saloon and have been doing so for several years.The new and excellent Chief Executive has made a dynamic start on reorganising his team, however, one still has the feeling that there are too many back to the future managers who lack the external experience of change and innovation to make it succeed. Fortunately for now, the hospitals have wonderful medical and clinical teams, but as they retire it will become increasingly difficult to recruit replacements to a hospital with such an uncertain future.For all our sakes I wish them the best of luck.
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