Health proposals will benefit most people
Proposals for the future of hospital services in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin centre on how to get the best result for the greatest number of people, a health chief has said.
David Evans Senior Responsible Officer for NHS Future Fit told a joint unitary authority scrutiny meeting that it was never going to be easy to put forward plans for having one emergency care centre for the region.
But he said it had been a clinically led proposal.
Mr Evans was speaking to the Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Councils joint overview and scrutiny committee about the draft consultation plan for Future Fit.
The document, produced by NHS Shropshire and NHS Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups puts forward a plan for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to become the emergency care site for the region and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to become the 'planned care' site.
Both hospitals would have an urgent care centre.
Mr Evans said: "This was never going to be easy, we all understand that. The joint CCG committee had to ask how do we get the best result for the greatest number of people."
Councillor Andy Burford, co-chairman of the scrutiny committee said he was more concerned about those for whom it would not be the best result.
"What worries me about this document is that it doesn't talk about who is going to miss out, who is going to 'disbenefit'.
"What about the vulnerable young woman in Telford who is having a baby and who needs consultant care?"
Mr Evans said he appreciated some people would have to travel further but said that at the moment many people were having to be treated out of the county because it did not have an emergency care centre.
"This document is based on clinicians coming up with a clinical model. If during consultation an alternative is put forward that is clinically sustainable it will be considered."
Councillor Madge Sheinton from south Shropshire said that for those living in the more rural parts of Shropshire every journey to hospital was a long one.
"I want to know that, if I have to go to hospital then there is somebody there who is able to treat me, distance should not come into it. In my part of the world we sometimes have to go to Worcester or Hereford."
The meeting was told that the draft document would go out to public consultation in October, for 14 weeks, to take into account Christmas and New Year.
Councillors said it was important that the consultation included reaching out to hard to reach groups of people and particularly older people who were the biggest users of hospital services.
