Telford’s two MPs today publicly backed plans to shake-up the county’s two main hospitals – as a petition against the proposals tipped the 20,000-signature mark.

David Wright and Mark Pritchard have put political differences aside to unite in support of plans which would see women’s and children’s services re-located from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to Telford’s Princess Royal.

They say the plans are “common sense” when looking at the population of the county in 2011.

But protesters claim the changes will endanger lives despite hospital bosses saying if the move does not go ahead the county could lose services to areas such as Stoke and Wolverhampton.

It comes as organisers of the Save Children’s Services campaign collected 1,200 signatures in Shrewsbury over the weekend taking the total to more than 20,000.

Campaigner Martin Davies-Friend, of Shrewsbury, said the petition showed the depth of feeling against the proposals.

But Mr Wright, MP for Telford, today said: “I believe the proposals will ensure we have two sustainable main hospitals in the county with A&E on both sites. Both Telford and Shrewsbury will have to give up services to each other to make the plans work. It makes sense, given the demography of the county, that women’s and children’s services are focused in Telford.

“The simple fact is we can’t design health services on how the county looked 50 years ago. We have to look at how the county is now and where population growth will be over the decades.”

Mr Pritchard, the Wrekin MP, said: “In an ideal world both hospitals would provide all services, sadly, we do not live in an ideal world.

“Therefore, the proposals are a sensible middle way which will protect A&E departments on both hospital sites whilst retaining paediatrics and expanding maternity at Telford.

“This is a common sense proposal given the demographics of the county and the higher birth rates of central and eastern Shropshire.

“The overwhelming clinical and medical view is that the proposals are the very best the whole of the county can hope for.”

By Peter Finch