Future Fit: Shropshire MPs to meet Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt over A&E futures

Mark Pritchard, MP for the Wrekin, says he will meet Mr Hunt in a bid to keep A&E and women and children's services at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.

And Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski says he will meet the minister to express his support for the "excellent" work of Future Fit, the body planning the reorganisation of hospital services.

Mr Kawczynski also met with hospital managers and doctors yesterday at Shirehall to urge them to press ahead with the reconfiguration as soon as possible, saying it was "protecting lives".

The developments pit both Tory colleagues against each other as the review approaches a public consultation.

While Mr Kawczynski supports plans to move children's services and create a single A&E in Shrewsbury, the proposals are bitterly opposed by Mr Pritchard.

Earlier this week, the Wrekin MP, said moving the children's unit "would cost lives" and he would "fight the proposals all the way".

Mr Pritchard added he would be inviting Telford Tory MP Lucy Allen, Telford & Wrekin Council's Labour leader Shaun Davies, Telford's Conservative leader Andrew Eade and Shropshire Council leader, Tory Malcolm Pate, to the meeting, which will be held in January.

He said: "These decisions are being made by local clinicians, not by the Health Secretary, but it is important he is made starkly aware of the unintended consequences of the relocating the children's unit from Telford to Shrewsbury.

"When all clinical and financial evidence is considered, it will become clear relocating children's unit from the PRH to RSH is the wrong decision."

There has been outcry in Telford since it was announced that the Future Fit Programme Board had chosen a preferred option of moving services from the two-year-old £28 million Women and Children's Centre and A&E department at the Princess Royal Hospital to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

On Monday, a joint board of both CCGs is being asked to support the option.

A public consultation on hospital services is set to begin in January, and could progress without a preferred option, should the CCGs fail to agree.

Telford & Wrekin Council has also said it will launch legal action if that the CCGs do support the preferred option.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday, members voted to push for a judicial review of hospital services.

The council has also released a report which, it says, proves that the method used to come to the preferred option is flawed, and will form a base of the legal challenge.

Now 17,000 people have signed a petition showing support for Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.