Future Fit: Shrewsbury A&E option 'in the lead' say bosses
Nearly half the people responding to the Future Fit consultation said Royal Shrewsbury Hospital should be the site of the county's sole emergency centre.
The figures have been released as part of the information gathered at the halfway stage of the Future Fit consultation – with six weeks gone.
The information has revealed that 49 per cent of people so far have "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) should be the base of the county's emergency centre, with planned care at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital (PRH).
Out of those responding 32 per cent agreed with the alternative option which would see PRH becoming the county's emergency centre and RSH the site of planned care.
Documents show that 797 people have backed RSH as the site for the emergency centre, while 513 have said they would prefer Telford to be the location.
The consultation has also quizzed people on whether they disagree with either option.
So far 47 per cent of people, a total of 770, "disagree" or "strongly disagree" with idea of RSH hosting the emergency centre, while 62 per cent, 997 respondents, "disagree" or "strongly disagree" with it being based at Telford.
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The figures illustrate the divisive nature of the consultation, which has seen Telford & Wrekin Council launch its own campaign to keep services at PRH and some of the county's MPs coming out in support of different options.
Only this week Telford & Wrekin Council has taken matters into its own hands by announcing it is delivering a copy of the consultation to every household in the borough.
Councillor Shaun Davies, Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, launched a rallying call to residents and said: “The future of hospital services is in your hands. We are distributing the survey to every home in the borough because this is such an important issue. We want as many people as possible to have their say.
“We do not accept their preferred option which would see the Princess Royal Hospital lose its new £28 million consultant-led Women and Children’s Centre and full 24-hour A&E."
The response rate so far for the consultation has been 0.5 per cent after six weeks of the programme.
A report considered by the county's Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee has revealed that the consultation is falling short of its expectations in terms of the response rate.
Currently the response rate is at 0.5 per cent, with the paper stating that a "good response rate" is around one per cent.
The team behind the consultation says it has a number of plans to speak to the public for the second half of the consultation.
They include using more social media to reach ‘gaps’, particularly in seldom heard groups – young mums for example - through targeted advertising.
The consultation team is also looking to get more balance in followers across genders.
Next Future Fit event being held
People in Market Drayton were today being given the chance to have their say on Future Fit.
The latest in a series of consultation events will take place at Festival Drayton Centre in from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.
Clinicians will attend the event which will also include a presentation and literature explaining the proposals to drastically change the NHS provision in Shropshire. Members of the public can ask questions and share their feelings about the plans with NHS representatives.
Earlier this week, Shrewsbury & Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski urged people to have their say.
He said: “I am encouraged by the number of people whom I have seen at the Furture Fit public meetings.
“The vast majority have gone away very impressed by the presentations of the surgeons and doctors once people have the information about any changes that are necessary to be made and where safety will be augmented,” he added.
“I would urge the people of Shrewsbury, north Shropshire and Mid Wales in these final weeks to get involved in the process as we do not want the medical expertise to be overturned by the political scaremongering.”
The Future Fit consultation will end on September 4.
