No plans to close either A&E in Shropshire this winter, bosses insist

Bosses at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH) haveissued a statement after a woman campaigning to keep A&E at both Princess Royal Hospital and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital claimed one would be suddenly shut.

Gill George, from Shropshire Defend Our NHS, said she was "certain" the unit at either Telford's Princess Royal or the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital would be shut by health bosses.

She said she had spoken to directors on the SaTH trust board and had seen documentation which hinted an announcement could be made this month or next.

But a statement issued jointly by SaTH chief executive Simon Wright, Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group chief officer David Evans and Shropshire CCG acting accountable officer Brigid Stacey denied this was the case.

It reads: "There are categorically no plans in place to close an A&E department as part of our winter planning.

"We face immense challenges in recruiting the skilled medical staff needed for the vital and highly skilled work that takes place in A&E departments and the other hospital teams that work alongside them.

"Every day it becomes more and more challenging to maintain services in their current configuration.

"Clinicians working together in the NHS Future Fit programme agree that the best and safest way to keep vital services in the county for the most life-threatening illnesses and injuries is through a network of urgent care centres supporting a single emergency centre.

"One thing is certain – the need for a network of urgent care centres supported by a single emergency centre remains.

"We must find a solution to this problem that preceded the NHS Future Fit programme and has beset our communities for decades.

"We all want to deliver the solution in a planned way, rather than having to put in place contingency measures in response to safety concerns.

"It is categorically not the case that there is a plan in place to close an A&E department as part of our winter planning.

"It is clear, however, that this debate must continue. We have got to be realistic about where we are.

"The challenges we face are real – every day doctors, nurses and the managers who support them are working hard to deliver great care in a way that simply isn't fit for the future.

"We want to be in a position within months, not years, to make a decision on the future of emergency and urgent care services based on wide-spread public consultation.

"We are working together to complete the programme of work identified at the NHS Future Fit Programme Board, with public consultation taking place during 2016.

This means that we can soon be clear on a definitive way forward.

"We will be sharing more detail before the end of October about how this work will be taken forward."