Future Fit: Closing one of Shropshire's A&Es will lead to deaths, warns former hospital sister
Closing one of Shropshire's A&Es will lead to deaths because of increased travel times a former hospital sister has warned.
Julia Evans, who worked as an A&E sister, has hit back at claims from the two men in charge of emergency medicine at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital that one of the departments must close.
Mr Subramanian Kumaran, consultant and clinical director for emergency medicine, and Dr Adrian Marsh, consultant and clinical lead for emergency medicine had claimed "doing nothing is not an option," for the future of the hospitals.
Their claims came after Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group and a local GPs group said they could not support the Future Fit programme because of the effect it would have on community services.
Mrs Evans said: "I've helped save a great many lives – I also know only too well of the patients who are 'dead on arrival' at hospital because journey times to A&E are already far, far too long.
"If we close down an A&E in Shropshire, patients will have to travel further. For some patients, this won't matter. For other patients, travelling further will result in death.
"This is the uncomfortable truth that apologists for Future Fit skirt around, with vague references to patients being seen 'in the right place by the right person' and – a new one on me – 'the safest kindest care possible'. Sorry, chaps. This isn't evidence – and the evidence is that longer journeys lead to more deaths, and A&E closure leads to more deaths."
Mrs Evans criticised the level of funding received by the NHS, something she said is driving the Future Fit process.
She said: "I had the privilege of working in the A&E at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital when it offered the best possible patient care. Our consultants were hugely respected and highly trained.
"We rotated doctors through Shrewsbury, Stoke and Birmingham, sharing skills and knowledge. The money was there to train nurses in acquiring specialist skills.
"We had a strong team, and I was proud to be a part of it. I saw what the very best patient care looks like.
"I also watched all of those things come under attack, as the NHS became run as a business, as senior managers took power away from clinicians, and as good staff were forced out.
"Knowledge and experience were lost. Some of the mistakes were local – but many others reflected wider changes.
"The picture at the Royal Shrewsbury has been repeated the length and breadth of England."
The letter from the two consultants had said that having one A&E would ensure that a senior doctor is present 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
But Mrs Evans questioned how reduction in facilities would improve patient care.
- Read Julia Evans' letter in full here