Boss of Future Fit rules out apology over Shropshire A&E shake-up delay

David Evans, senior responsible officer for Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group, said he was frustrated by delays to the Future Fit process.

He also admitted that the bill for Future Fit, a reorganisation of Shropshire's health services, was set to rise to £3 million.

It comes after a decision on the preferred site for a single A&E in the county was put back – more than two years after the Future Fit programme was launched.

Mr Evans said: "I do not feel there have been any errors to apologise for. Personally, I share the disappointment with everyone else – I would have liked to have gone forward at this point. I think it is regrettable that we are not in the position to go forward but there are good reasons for that.

"I don't think the process has been a failure but, yes, I am disappointed. I don't think the process is flawed. There are positives, such as the clinical model. We are all still signed up to it and think it is right. We need to be far more explicit about what Future Fit means for people in different parts of Shropshire.

"We are planning more public consultation to help people understand the programme and the difference between what you would go to an urgent care centre for and what you would go to A&E for."

It was revealed on Thursday that the delay happened because none of the options on the table adequately tackle the growing deficit – rising to £23 million next year – of Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Options put forward included siting A&E just at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or just at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, or building it on a new site somewhere between the two current hospitals.

The future of the county's £28 million women and children's unit, which opened at the Princess Royal a year ago, also remains unclear. It was suggested it could be moved as part of the NHS overhaul.