Shropshire A&E decision delay 'months not years'

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he expected representatives of NHS England to discuss delays in the Future Fit programme with local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) next month.

The Future Fit review, which will decide where accident and emergency services in the county are based, has been led by Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin CCGs, which decided to postpone a decision earlier this month.

Mr Kawczynski said NHS England would now be looking to establish a timescale for a preferred option with the CCGs, but that the organisation backs the idea to take time to find a proposal which saves more money.

The Conservative MP issued a statement after speaking with Wendy Saviour, director of commissioning and operations at NHS England (North Midlands).

Mr Kawczynski said he had raised concerns with the director that the reconfiguration programme had stalled because initial identified savings would not significantly reduce the financial deficit faced by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH).

The statement said: "Wendy had confirmed that it was the decision of the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to delay the programme. For an option to be progressed, they would need to carry out a public consultation exercise and secure the appropriate funding.

"NHS England had suggested that the programme board may wish to consider taking more time to identify greater savings in order that they would be in a better position to apply for the required capital.

"It was her understanding that the delay would be in terms of months rather than years and she gave an undertaking to speak with the Future Fit board to get an idea of the timescales involved."

Shropshire's MPs will join Mrs Saviour and representatives from Shropshire and Telford CCGs for talks on November 13.

The announcement comes as a Shropshire hospitals campaigner warned that the Future Fit delay has not ended the threat to services at either Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, or Princess Royal Hospital Telford.

Gill George, of Shropshire Defend Our NHS, told a meeting of campaigners and trade unionists at Dawley Social Club in Telford, that people need to form the "biggest possible angry and united defence of our NHS" to save services on both sites.