Shropshire health watchdogs have promised to closely monitor the shake-up of services at the county’s two main hospitals.

The joint health overview and scrutiny committee of Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council met last night after the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust and the county’s two primary care trusts had given their unanimous backing to reshape services.

The committee agreed that the consultation process had fully met expectations and there was no need to refer the matter to the Secretary of State.

Members also reaffirmed their own support for the planned changes, subject to a number of assurances and safeguards.

Councillor Veronica Fletcher, who chaired the meeting, said the committee would closely monitor progress, such as the need to mitigate travel times and the recruitment of additional paramedics.

She said: “It is vital that local people and the joint committee are kept informed about these changes.

“It is the role of this committee to make sure that the hospital trust and PCTs keep their promises and people in the area receive a better service as a result of these changes.”

Councillor Gerald Dakin, who co-chairs the committee, added: “This decision means that we can now make sure that local people get a better health service.

“The scrutiny process has been a very positive piece of work and I want to thank everyone who has contributed to our work.

“The views of local people have been important to the scrutiny committee and we will continue to listen to what local people want.”

The hospital trust board had “commended” the plans to the Shropshire County Primary Care Trust and NHS Telford and Wrekin boards, who in turn unanimously agreed to support the proposals “as a basis for the development of more detailed implementation plans”.

But they want the hospital trust, working with partners, to lead discussions with the ambulance service to further improve response times, to identify means of mitigating travel times and progress discussions with partners in Shropshire and Wales aimed at strengthening service provision in the community.

During public questions at the Shropshire County PCT meeting Reg Taylor, whose son was the first bone-marrow transplant patient in Mid Wales, said it seemed concerns people in Mid Wales had over travel times had been ignored.

And former hospital director Ron Jones, who has been involved in the campaign to retain women and children’s services at Shrewsbury, claimed concerns raised by paediatricians at the Royal Shrewsbury opposed to the changes, were under-played.

But Dr Leigh Griffin, acting chief executive of the PCT and chief executive of NHS Telford and Wrekin, acknowledged paediatricians and neonatal doctors at Shrewsbury had “particular concerns” and that was one of the reasons why external views on the proposals had been sought.

At the later meeting of NHS Telford and Wrekin, hospital trust chief executive Adam Cairns, took up the issue.
He accepted that five paediatricians and four neonatal doctors were opposed to the plans, but they had still taken part in discussions to develop clinical “pathways” for patients.

Mr Cairns said that developing the outline and full business cases would provide the opportunity to further test the affordability and suitability.

Turning to the difference in costs – £28 million to develop services at Telford against £60 million at Shrewsbury – Mr Cairns said the Royal Shrewsbury “needs everything from foundation to roof” such as a new boiler plant, lifts and water treatment facility, while the Princess Royal already has most of the facilities needed to make service changes.

A “great deal more work” needed to be done on developing the plans which would continue to be tested.
Dr Griffin said there was a “history of failed attempts” to reconfigure services to ensure their safety and sustainability.

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris