Telford MP's Commons call over 'huge suffering' caused by surgery delays

Conservative MP Lucy Allan raised her fears in the House of Commons on Tuesday, expressing frustration that Princess Royal Hospital in Telford had still not resumed orthopaedic surgery.

But she was assured by Health Secretary Sajid Javid that he had been informed such surgery would resume from next week.

And, Mr Javid also revealed that, if a business case is approved, then construction on the region's Hospitals Transformation Programme, also known as Future Fit, could commence in 2023.

Ms Allan told the Commons: “Orthopaedic surgery at Princess Royal Hospital has still not restarted following the pandemic and this is causing huge suffering to those who have been waiting for surgery, in some cases for several years.

“A hip replacement is transformative to quality of life, and it reduces other care needs. And orthopaedic surgeons continue to be paid despite not operating. And there’s no alternative being offered to patients. They are not even being given an expected date for their operation."

In response, the Health Secretary said: “Can I first thank my honourable friend for her tireless campaigning on this issue and I’m pleased to tell her that elective orthopaedic surgery in the Princess Royal Hospital will resume from June 20."

Last month, a businessman who had been waiting for more than two years for a hip operation told the Shropshire Star that sometimes the pain he suffers is so severe that he cannot eat.

Graham Cotton, 68, from Oakengates, revealed he had been on the waiting list with the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford for more than two years.

He said at the time:"Out of a scale of ten, my pain is sometimes 12, and I have been told the hospital is not doing elective surgery and although they are buying theatre time at Oswestry that they cannot say when I will have an operation."

Sara Biffen, Acting Chief Operating Officer at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), said: “We can confirm that elective orthopaedic surgery will resume at Princess Royal Hospital on 20 June 2022, with urgent cases and those who have been waiting a long time prioritised for treatment.

“The service was paused due to pressures on our hospitals and the ongoing impacts of Covid-19, however some elective orthopaedic surgery continued at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital and a temporary Vanguard Unit at PRH.

“We have been working with our system partners to enable us to resume the service at PRH and thank our colleagues for their hard work.”

At the same Commons session, Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski spoke on the Hospitals Transformation Programme and welcomed an indication about a potential start date for construction of the £312million programme, which will improve the quality of health services delivered to Shropshire and mid-Wales.

“Bearing in mind that the NHS is going to be receiving approximately £180 billion this year of taxpayer’s money, improving leadership and management within the NHS is extremely important," he said.

"No more so than in the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust where despite us obtaining £312 million from his Department, from the Treasury, to improve A&E services, a lack of cohesive leadership has resulted in no decision being taken as to how this money is going to be spent and with rising costs in the construction industry, this is of great concern to us."

Mr Javid replied: "I am pleased to tell him that my Department just received the strategic outline case for his local A&E’s Future Fit Programme and it’s currently being reviewed and he will undoubtedly know that the business case process is led by the Trust and is supported by some early funding already.

"I understand that the Trust is aiming to present the full business case in 2023 with construction starting in the same year and to be completed by 2028."