Future Fit: Single Shropshire A&E proposal 'to be vetoed'
A controversial recommendation to site Shropshire's new single A&E unit in Shrewsbury will be vetoed at a crunch meeting next week, it was claimed today.
The Future Fit programme board says both A&E and women's and children's services should be at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
But the recommendation must be ratified by a joint committee made up of representatives from both Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) before going out to consultation.
Andrew Eade, leader of the Tory opposition group on Telford & Wrekin Council, said he had been told by a "reliable source" that the six members of Telford & Wrekin CCG had already met and decided not to back the recommendation.
If that happens at the meeting on Monday, it means public consultation may go ahead without a preferred option on the table.
Councillor Eade said, based on what he had been told, he did not think "for one moment" that Telford & Wrekin CCG would allow the Future Fit recommendation to go forward for consultation.
"I would be very disappointed and surprised if Future Fit's flawed proposals ever make it to the public consultation stage," he added.
Meanwhile, Labour council leader Shaun Davies has urged residents to turn out at an emergency council meeting tonight. A motion will be put forward at the meeting, at 6pm at Telford College of Arts & Technology, to urge town MPs Lucy Allan and Mark Pritchard to seek an urgent meeting with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
It also asks for the council to give the ruling cabinet permission to launch a judicial review at the appropriate time.
Councillor Davies said: "It would be good to see as many people from across the community attend and listen to the debate.
"It is a complex issue, but there are some fundamental flaws in the process. It is important that people hear about those and begin to understand why we are so determined to fight all the way. This is now the second time in five years that we face such a fight."
