Having two A&Es meant I survived, says Shropshire pensioner
A Shropshire pensioner who had emergency blood transfusions at hospital to save his life has stressed the need for the county to keep both its A&E departments.
If the Future Fit plans get the go-ahead there will only be a single emergency centre for the whole of Shropshire, with urgent care centres set up at both Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.
But John Crowe says both of the county's A&Es are vital and must be kept.
The grandfather-of-two, who lives in Walcot, near Lydbury North, was taken in an ambulance to the A&E at PRH when he had a nosebleed which wouldn't stop.
"I woke up and my pillow and bed sheets were covered in blood," the 71-year-old said.
"I'd had nosebleeds before which had stopped but this one didn't.
"My wife called an ambulance and they said they would take me to PRH because that's where the ears, nose and throats unit is.
"I was passing out and they put the blue lights on to escalate their speed."
The bleeding continued when Mr Crowe reached A&E and he had to be transferred to the resuscitation area to have an emergency blood transfusion.
"I had lost 85 per cent of my blood," he said.
"I was in PRH for a week and had to have seven blood transfusions.
'Every second counts'
"My survival depended on a fully functional A&E at that hospital.
"If I had been taken there and then had to be transferred to RSH I probably wouldn't have made it.
"Every second counts in an emergency. Whether it's a road accident, a farming accident, a domestic accident or a trauma that goes on, when that does happen you need access to a capable service that's there all the time in order to save lives.
"We need both of our A&Es in Shropshire."
Mr Crowe said the care he received at PRH last year was '"faultless".
He added: "The valiant staff continue to try to deliver safe and best recovery for emergency patients despite being continuously understaffed. It is wholly unreasonable to expect staff to continue to deliver best care under such stress.
"The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust must immediately buy-in locum staff at each and every level where the emergency staffing rotas are stretched.
"With a work rota that is then fair to emergency staff, stress will reduce and the trust can then begin to replace locum staff with permanent positions."
A decision on the Future Fit proposals is expected to be made by February next year.
More than 16,000 people gave their feedback to the proposals in the public consultation.
The proposals aim to shake-up hospital services in the county and will see emergency and planned care separated if given the final nod by health bosses.
