Shropshire Star

Future Fit: Health group backs Shropshire shake-up including A&E closure

The restructuring of Shropshire's hospitals and the closure of one accident and emergency unit has taken a major step forward with the backing of a crucial health group.

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Artist's impressions of the proposed A&E department if at the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, top, and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, bottom.

Simon Wright, the chief executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, also said his organisation has no choice but to move to a system where emergency care is provided at one site – either Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, or Royal Shrewsbury Hospital – even if the county's clinical commissioning groups choose not to support the Future Fit process.

Mr Wright's comments came after Shropshire's Clinical Commissioning Group gave its backing to the strategic outline case for the Future Fit review.

Shropshire CCG had thrown the process into chaos last month when its members decided they could not support the plans without more detail on funding for services provided in the community and by GPs.

Julian Povey, CCG chairman, said they had been able to change their mind because a number of concerns have been addressed, while caveats in their letter of support mean they can choose to withdraw their backing if they are not met.

He said: "We all have concerns around finance, activity, and how work will be done in the community but what we know is these aspects will be looked at and a plan drawn up from the Strategic Outline Case to the Outline Business Case."

He described the vote as "a positive step forward". However, the move was met with opposition from health campaigners who attended the meeting with some shouting "shame" and "sell-outs" as the CCG members voted to approve the letter of support.

Mr Wright said: "I know people are saying this is linked to money, it has nothing to do with money, it is about how we provide the best care."

He added: "We welcome this decision by the Shropshire CCG, which is an important step in progressing these plans.

"Following the joint meeting of the two CCGs in May, it was clear there were still some concerns to address and we are delighted that we have been able to do so sufficiently to allow our colleagues in Shropshire to support our case.

"Our Strategic Outline Case describes our plans to address the significant challenges to the safety and sustainability of patient services specifically in Emergency and Critical Care.

"A single site for the county's emergency department is the best way to ensure our patients receive safe and dignified care in the right place at the right time and that we continue to attract the best doctors and nurses and have facilities which are fit for the 21st century.

"We know people are concerned that having one emergency centre means greater waiting times. But there are already hidden delays that currently exist because of the way our hospital services are delivered. Each of our hospitals specialises in different areas and these changes are saving lives. More people are getting faster access to expert clinical opinion than ever before.

"Our SOC is not the final plan for our future, but rather a relatively brief preliminary document which contains the information we need to support an informed decision as we move towards an Outline Business Case."

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