Shropshire's A&E in 'fragile state' warning

It was last night revealed that the county's two emergency departments were only being kept open due to the heroic efforts of staff.

Edwin Borman, medical director for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said just five consultants were working between both units at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.

This compares to 16 in a nearby comparable NHS Trust.

He said: "We are in a very fragile state and it is being kept running by very tired people who have been grappling with the problem for a very long time.

"We are using locum doctors and we are working hard to keep the good ones. We are continually recruiting. However, we have only five consultants who have to split themselves between two sites. Two came back out of retirement because they could see the position we were in."

This stark message was spelt out at yesterday's trust meeting in Newtown.

It was also revealed that so many people were turning up at A&E that more cubicles will be created at the Princess Royal, and would be in place by the end of the year.

The news comes after health bosses called for an urgent action plan ahead of the colder months to avoid a repeat of last year's A&E crisis.

Debbie Kadum, chief operating officer for the trust, told the board that there had been an 8.21 per cent increase in emergency attendances at the two hospitals in recent weeks.

The NHS in Shropshire is looking at operating one emergency centre in the county and the new chief executive, Simon Wright, said the current situation highlighted the problems of trying to keep two open.

But a member of the public at the meeting, Tess Finch-Lees, from Bishop's Castle, said she feared the worst for patients in rural areas of Shropshire.She said she dreaded to think what might have happened if A&E in Shrewsbury hadn't been available when her son was rushed to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital after a crash last year.

She said: "When you have a critically ill child in the back of an ambulance, distance can mean death. That's why a county this size needs both A&Es".