Future Fit: Public must have their say on A&E in Shropshire insists health chief

Simon Wright, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, says the issue of hospital services in the county is "urgent and unsustainable".

He spoke out after the joint clinical commissioning group meeting about the Future Fit review of Shropshire's healthcare which ended in stalemate.

At the meeting on Monday, members of the two clinical commissioning groups representing Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin rejected NHS Future Fit board's recommendations. The Future Fit review recommended that the best of four options would be to have one A&E serving Shropshire and Mid Wales at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The Princess Royal Hospital's Women and Children's unit would also be moved to RSH.

All six panel members from Shropshire CCG voted for taking the plans to public consultation – but the six members representing Telford & Wrekin CCG voted against.

Mr Wright said: "Our area's acute emergency service has been frail for some time. Three years ago, system leaders came together in a call to action, recognising that the issue was becoming urgent and unsustainable.

"Following this, doctors, nurses and other health professionals worked together in a programme called NHS Future Fit to design a clinical model that they felt would give the best patient results, combining the need for in-depth medical expertise with convenience of access.

"The emerging model was tested and improved by patient groups and a clinical reference group, plus external bodies such as the Regional Clinical Senate and NHS England.

"But the health system belongs to the people it serves.

"The public now needs to have the chance to understand the suggested model in detail, to test whether it achieves the right balance between clinical outcomes and convenience, and help shape a final agreed design."

Mr Wright said the outcome of Monday's meeting, which is now likely to lead to an independent review of the whole process, had deprived the public the chance to have their say through a consultation. He added: "It also means that the fundamental issue – the fragility of the emergency care system – remains unaddressed."