Mid Wales concerns raised over Shropshire A&E future
Emergency services in Mid Wales would be left strained if the county's sole A&E was based in Telford, campaigners said today.
The leader of Powys County Council said that the Future Fit review of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is a serious concern for all residents in the county.
A senior official from the county council met health officials in Shropshire yesterday to discuss cross border health care.
Powys does not have its own hospital and the population in the north east of the county looks to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for care.
The Future Fit review has proposed that there should be just one Emergency Care Centre to replace the two A&E departments at the RSH and Princess Royal.
No decision has been made on which site the emergency care centre will be housed. An urgent care centre will replace the A&E in the hospital that loses out.
Councillor Barry Thomas, leader of Powys County Council, said: "Our aim is to encourage the trust to retain essential services closer to our border.
"If Royal Shrewsbury Hospital were to downgrade its A&E to an urgent care centre, the impact would be very distressing to residents in Mid Wales.
"If the new emergency centre was to be based in Telford, ambulance travel time for critical and life-threatening illnesses and injuries would be considerably longer.
"This would put further strain on emergency services in Powys where our rural geography already makes it difficult for people to access emergency and ambulance services.
"People with acute care needs maybe put at risk by having to travel further to receive essential emergency care.
"If the service were to move to Telford, the discharge and transfer of residents back to their home would put more strain on the individual or family.
"As Powys does not have a district general hospital, we rely heavily on our cross border services to meet the health care needs of approximately 50,000 residents."
living in Mid Wales and along the border with neighbouring Shropshire.
"The council's cabinet will continue to express its views with the trust to ensure the issues and concerns of residents in Mid Wales are heard."
