Shropshire NHS trusts have voted unanimously to support plans to reshape hospital services. But two comments yesterday captured the huge task that now faces health officials and clinicians in drawing up detailed plans.

Dr John Davies, chairman of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, said: “We are just starting the journey.”

He was absolutely right. A great deal of work now lies ahead in developing outline and full business cases that stand close scrutiny and meet stringent assurance tests.

The other comment came from Dr Caron Morton, chairman of its professional executive committee, at the meeting of the Shropshire County Primary Care Trust board. She is chairman of its professional executive committee, who said she couldn’t give a complete assurance that the proposals were safe and risk-free but that they had to ensure this stage was reached before they were implemented and any risks would be focused on.

Many people in the west of Shropshire and in Mid Wales have concerns about the extra travel times and the dangers they pose to mothers and babies in emergency situations.

The need to improve ambulance response times is another big worry. Health chiefs have promised tackling these fears will need be a top priority.

The next step is developing detailed outline and full business cases and there is no doubt that the health trusts will be challenged along the way. Above all else the public must be confident that they have safe services.

It’s worth reminding ourselves what the plans are. All inpatient general surgery, both planned and emergency (vascular, colrectal and upper gastro-intestinal) will be carried out at Shrewsbury with breast, gynaecological and head and neck surgery performed at Telford.

All trauma surgery will be carried out at Shrewsbury and orthopaedic surgery will continue at both sites.

Most outpatient appointments and most day surgery cases will also continue at both hospitals.

The consultant led maternity unit at Shrewsbury will move to Telford but both sites will continue to provide midwifery led units. The Shrewsbury accommodation will be improved. The neonatal intensive care unit will move to Telford.

Pregnant women will continue to have their outpatient antenatal care, as now. High risk pregnancies will be delivered at the consultant led unit at Telford.

Gynaecology inpatient services will be concentrated at Telford but most outpatient care will continue as now.

In patient children’s services will be concentrated at Telford but there will be paediatric assessment units at both sites. Both sites will provide hyper-acute stroke services.

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris