Fears over Shrewsbury children's unit opening times

Under proposals being considered by health chiefs, the children's assessment unit at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the equivalent at Shrewsbury being open for more than 12 hours a day from Monday to Friday.

But Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski and Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow said they had been told paediatric services would be on site at the RSH for 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hospital bosses insisted today no final decision had been made and it was only one of a number of options under consideration. But they have been accused of going back on an alleged promise to have specialist doctors and nurses for children at the Royal Shrewsbury for seven days a week.

Mr Kawczynski and Mr Barrow claim a deal was struck as part of an agreement to move services from Shrewsbury to the £28 million women and children's centre at Telford, which will open next month.

In a joint letter to Mr Herring, Councillor Barrow and Mr Kawczysnki say: "As part of the reconfiguration of women and children's services in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, it was our view that seven-day paediatric service with appropriately qualified staff should have been retained at RSH.

"It is disappointing, therefore, that the hospital has seen fit to ignore our comments.

"We made it absolutely clear that patient care had to be the overriding priority when considering these changes, whereas the unilateral decision by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust appears to be financially driven.

"We feel that a reduction in paediatric services at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is the start of a drive to slowly migrate services away from the rest of Shropshire.

"We strongly urge you to reconsider and maintain the provision of paediatric services for seven days a week at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The people of Shropshire deserve better than what you are proposing."

Andrew Tapp, women and children's care group medical director at the hospital trust, said health chiefs were still in discussions about the exact opening times of the unit at Royal Shrewsbury.

"It will be provided alongside accident and emergency from September 29," he said. "The minimum it will be open, as the service is now, would be 13 hours a day, five days a week.

"No final decision has been made about its opening times but we will inform people once this has happened."