A&E appeal as more Shropshire hospital operations are called off
More operations have been cancelled as Shropshire's hospitals continue to struggle to cope with spiralling numbers of emergency patients.
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital confirmed that a number of planned operations had been cancelled yesterday, but said it could not provide a number.
It follows 15 operations being cancelled on Monday and 11 on Tuesday.
Dr Edwin Borman, medical director of Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, asked people to "think carefully" before attending A&E, adding they were for emergency cases.
Meanwhile, calls have been made for Shropshire Council to come out in support of a new A&E site in the county – because health chiefs cannot recruit enough staff under the current arrangement.
Councillor Dave Tremellen was making the call at today's full council meeting at Shirehall. But council chiefs have indicated it will be sitting on the fence until a review of health care is complete.
The Future Fit review is being carried in conjunction with Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin's Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Health chiefs have already said maintaining the status quo with units at both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal is not an option.
A new emergency centre could be built at Shrewsbury, at Princess Royal, or on a site between the two, exclusively to treat people with life-threatening injuries.
Urgent care centres would be set up across the county to treat patients with fractures and other non-critical injuries.
In a question submitted to the authority, Councillor Tremellen, the independent member for Highley, said: "Why is Shropshire Council not openly supporting Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group in their effort to rationalise health service provision in the county by building the "third site" acute unit on land already in NHS England's ownership?
"It would be situated almost exactly between the existing two main hospitals and just a stone's throw from the A5."
He added: "Shropshire has only five A&E consultants, a figure given by Dr Caron Morton at a recent briefing, across both sites and has been unable to recruit consultants at the required level."
But Councillor Karen Calder, portfolio holder for health, said it was not the right time to be nailing its colours to a mast.
She added: "In view of the current stage of the Future Fit it would be more appropriate for Shropshire Council to reserve its opinion regarding the short listed options that will emerge."
