A&E at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital to CLOSE, campaigners claim

The claims, which have not been confirmed, come as the Future Fit review of health services moves to a critical stage.

The Defend Our NHS group says it has received information that A&E will close at PRH and a single department for the county created at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The Women's and Children's Centre, opened with a fanfare by the Princess Royal in 2014, will also be moved to Shrewsbury.

Planned surgery will largely move to the Telford hospital, according to campaigners.

Defend our NHS spokeswoman Gill George said: "This is the decision taken at last Friday's 'non-financial appraisal' meeting, and is in line with rumours that have been emerging in the last two months.

"This option was promoted vigorously by representatives of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. We have been told it is a virtual certainty that this will be endorsed by a financial appraisal panel, and rubber-stamped by a Future Fit Programme Board in early October."

Ms George said the decision would affect patients from across the region.

She added: "This is important, because it means patients lose out in Telford & Wrekin and in Shropshire.

"The Emergency Centre, now intended to be at the Royal Shrewsbury, is for unplanned emergency patients. It will also take a small number of 'complex' patients needing planned care. There will be no other planned care at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

"The Planned Care Centre, to be at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, will be the site for all planned care – for diagnostic tests such as MRIs, routine surgery like cataracts and hip/knee replacements, and importantly, cancer care.

"Some acute patients will transfer from the Royal Shrewsbury to the Princess Royal if they are well enough after three days, but no acutely ill patients will be directly admitted to the Princess Royal.

"It creates a lose-lose situation for everyone. Telford & Wrekin residents will have their lives put at risk through the loss of the A&E and longer ambulance journey times to reach emergency help in Shrewsbury. Most people in Shropshire and Powys will face unacceptable journey times for routine care, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy."

Ms George said her group would continue to fight the plans.

She said: "This has never been about Telford versus Shrewsbury. We're all losers here. It isn't acceptable for Telford people to have to travel 18 miles or more in a life threatening emergency. It isn't acceptable either for people in South Shropshire, Oswestry or Powys to face nightmare journeys to Telford for cancer treatment – radiotherapy or chemotherapy; or for day surgery, or for a scan or a test.

"Health bosses are trying to push through annual cuts of £147.5m cuts locally, and Future Fit is a part of that cuts package. We desperately need our MPs to get to grips with the catastrophic funding crisis in our NHS, before it's too late."

• MORE: A timeline into the last three years of Future Fit

• MORE: Telford residents react to claims that Princess Royal Hospital's A&E is to close

Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies said the council take any decision of this nature to a judicial review and has called for a "urgent intervention" by the Department of Health.

Future Fit have released a statement saying: "The outcome of the non-financial option appraisal which has taken place does not constitute a decision.

"The next steps are that the outcome of the non-financial appraisal and financial appraisal will go to the NHS Future Fit Programme Board in October, who will then make a recommendation to the Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin CCGs.

"The NHS Future Fit programme still has a long way to go before a final decision is made. This includes a full Public Consultation that will run for a minimum of 12 weeks."

Lucy Allan, Telford's MP, said: ""I will be speaking to David Evans (Chief Officer, NHS Telford and Wrekin CCG and NHS Shropshire CCG) later today for a full briefing on today's reports.

"I hope that for my constituents sake today's news reports amount to little more than misinformation. However, this uncertainty should not go on and on unchecked.

"Telford has by far the strongest case for the new Emergency Department. In addition moving the £28 million Women and Children's centre, which has only been open around 2 years, would be a complete betrayal of Telford by Future Fit.

"With excellent road links, the fastest growing town in the West Midlands as well as significant pockets of deprivation, the Princess Royal Hospital has to be the long-term home for both of these departments."

"Since coming to Telford in 2013, this has been my number one priority and is the single issue that matters most to my constituents. It's incomprehensible that Telford should lose a brand new facility for women and children.

"I have previously dismissed such rumours a scaremongering. It's time for FutureFit and SATH NHS to get down off the fence and tell it how it is."

Mark Pritchard, MP for the Wrekin, said: ""No final decisions have been made.

"However, it would be utter madness, with such a young population, to close the children's unit and reduce the hours of the 24 hour accident and emergency department at Telford.

"I will fight it all the way."

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he was not going to make a comment on the proposals until a final, formal presentation was made by Future Fit.

But he added: "Keeping A&E services at Shrewsbury is vital, it is my number one priority and I will do anything possible to make that happen.

"I will be taking it to the Prime Minister at the next Prime Minister's Question Time and it is something that a lot of my constituents feel very strongly about."

Owen Paterson, MP for North Shropshire, said: "I have been very clear of my view of the proposals.

"Plans are for urgent care centres to be built in rural areas in the county which will do 70 per cent of what A&Es do and allow elective procedures to be performed in the most sensible place.

"All of this is speculation and for me, the most important thing is the urgent care centres."

Glyn Davies, Montgomeryshire MP, said: "I don't think any decision has been made yet.

"If this was to be the decision I would see it as very positive.

"Wherever there is change there is differing opinion but my view would be having the A&E department and the Women and Children Centre in Shrewsbury would excellent for people in my constituency and most people in Shropshire and it is something I have wanted for many years.

"Telford is a terrific hospital and it was to take on planned care that would been more distance for people in Mid Wales."

He added that hospital services in Shropshire were at the "point of collapse" and changes need to be made somewhere to make the service "viable".

Neither Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust were this morning available for comment.