Blog: Shropshire is going to be left with a bitter taste, whatever decision is taken on plans to reshape hospital services, writes Dave Morris.

I say that as more divisions emerge in health circles today over the proposals.

Nine of the 14 consultant paediatricans working at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal have warned that planned changes will not be safe or sustainable.

But the chairman of the Princess Royal League of Friends has again raised the spectre of services being lost to Stoke and Wolverhampton if changes are not made.

Last week another group senior clinicians, warned of “dire consequences” if changes were not made to the way services are delivered at the two hospitals.

And last month, David Sandbach, former key player in the Shropshire NHS, called for the county to have a single-site district general hospital.

Mr Sandbach who was previous chief executive at the Princess Royal,claimed that the current two-site system of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust was inefficient, expensive and an impediment to delivering more and better health care.

In a detailed response to the proposals he claimed that a single-site hospital could provide the county with between £67.8 million and £82.3 million worth of extra health care.

Since last December, when the current public consultation started, there been convincing arguments both for and against the plans.

But many on both sides of the debate agree that maintaining the status quo is not a viable option. However when push comes to shove they can’t agree on the way forward.

Last autumn Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust boss Adam Cairns wrote in a newsletter that he was under no illusions that it would be easy to resolve the problems facing the organisation.

Since then has experienced at a number of public meetings, the anger and concern being generated from the west of the county and mid Wales over plans to move most women and children’s services from the Royal Shrewsbury to Telford’s Princess Royal.

The consultation ends on March 14 and the next crunch date in what is a tight timetable is March 24 when a final decision on the proposals could be taken.

The boards the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, the Shropshire County Primary Care Trust, and NHS Telford and Wrekin will meet during the day to consider the findings of the consultation.

I understand that the hospital trust board will meet first. It will have the task of deciding whether it can recommend for approval by the other two trusts, a set of proposals which are safe and sustainable.

At the end of the day, the decisions of the trusts, will be put to a meeting of the joint health overview scrutiny committee made up of members of Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council.

At this stage the committee could send proposals back to the trusts for further consideration and refer the matter to the Secretary of State.

If it supports the plans, then we could see some changes being implemented as early as this spring, with full implementation by 2014.

But whatever the final decision, many people are going to be disappointed.

And the bitter taste is going to last a long time.