Flawed A&E plan must be stopped, says Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies

Council leader Shaun Davies claimed the weighting process adopted by Future Fit bosses was skewed 19 to 1 in favour of non-financial factors.

It is believed the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital came out on top in a non-financial appraisal of the best location for A&E, while Telford's Princess Royal, as a cheaper option, was the best bet in the financial test.

Councillor Davies said the council had found flaws in the non-financial appraisal scoring process. He said there were huge question marks over the quality of information presented to the appraisal panel, as well as the instructions and training they were given.

But the leader added that, notwithstanding all that, the financial and non-financial appraisals should have been given equal weighting in the decision-making process.

The concerns are outlined in a letter is addressed to David Evans, responsible officer for Future Fit and chief officer of Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group.

It is signed by Councillor Davies and Richard Partington, the council's managing director.

Councillor Davies said: "The ball is now in David's court – we have been very clear in outlining our concerns.

"He must know whether he has run a proper process or not and the answers to the substantial issues and concerns we have raised.

"We want to avoid a judicial review if possible.

"However, this will depend on how Future Fit responds to our concerns and if they are certain that their process is fair and legally robust."

Councillor Davies added that the council had also requested further information from the Future Fit board, which when provided, may raise further areas of concern.

The letter reveals Future Fit bosses plan to meet again next week to discuss their next move.

It says: "Should the committee proceed to make a decision as to the preferred option without heeding this correspondence then they do so at their own risk.

"The council will review its position prior to the launch of the public consultation and will give serious consideration to bringing judicial review proceedings at that stage."

A document leaked last month suggested that Shrewsbury would be the preferred option for a single A&E unit serving Shropshire and Mid Wales. Elective procedures would instead be carried out at Telford.

It is understood the £28 million Women and Children's Centre, which opened at PRH two years ago, would move to Shrewsbury under the proposals.

A protest march has since been held in Telford and thousands have signed petitions opposing any attempt to close PRH's A&E unit.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs the two hospitals, has since revealed one of the county's A&E departments may soon have to close overnight from 10pm because of safety concerns caused by a shortage of consultant staff.