A Shropshire mother whose two-year-old son died while waiting for an urgent heart transplant today claimed he would not have lived past five days if he had been born following a shake-up of hospital services in the county.

Karen Prior, of Judith Butts Gardens in Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, lost her son Lewis in April 2004 after months of waiting for a heart to save him that never came.

But she said plans by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to concentrate women and children’s services at Telford would mean, if he had been born after the proposed changes, he would not have survived when he collapsed at just five days old.

Mrs Prior, who with her husband Colin launched the Lewis Prior Foundation in their son’s memory, said: “When Lewis was born we had no idea he had his heart defect as it had been undetected during pregnancy, so basically my pregnancy with him was classed as normal, no complications.

“It was only when he collapsed at home aged five days that we were aware he had any problems. Luckily for us my midwife was at our house and she called the ambulance. We were blue lighted to Shrewsbury neo- natal, Lewis’s whole body was in total shut down.

“Within minutes we arrived at Shrewsbury and due to the expertise of the staff there our son was made stable enough to be transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

“We sadly lost our son on April 6, 2004, aged two years and eight months. The two years we had him were far too short a time but had this proposal already gone through and we would have had to get Lewis to Telford, we would have certainly lost our son on the day he collapsed aged five days.

“There is no doubt that he would not have survived the trip to Telford.

“Lewis’s case is not unique, other families will find themselves in similar situations with their children and babies.

“This move if approved will put the lives of children from Shropshire and the surrounding area at risk, not to mention premature babies.”

Under the plans the trust wants to make Telford’s Princess Royal the centre for women and children’s services with the Royal Shrewsbury assuming the role for acute surgery and major trauma.

By Russell Roberts