Controversial Shrewsbury health hub is 'only value for money option for town's GP services'

That is according to NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System, which will present findings from a review into alternative options to the Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub at a council meeting next week.

Residents and councillors, who have raised concerns over issues including transport and regular access to the same GP, demanded a range of other choices to the hub, which would cost £40-£60 million and be funded by NHS England.

The ICS looked into 14 options, short-listing six but the hub is the only one that ticks all the boxes in its criteria. Options shortlisted included doing nothing, extending current practices, replacing the current surgeries with six new builds, creating three new builds to house two practices each, building the hub and having a virtual GP service offer in the vicinities of practices which are relocating, as well as the original hub plan.

Criteria used to assess the viability of the options included patient choice, access, whether the premises is fit for purpose a strategic fit and whether it meets the needs for population growth and if there will be enough staff. Affordability and value for money were also part of the ICS’s thinking.

The original hub plan was the only option of the six which the ICS considers meets all the criteria. The report will presented at a Shropshire Council health and adult social care overview scrutiny committee on Monday, October 31.

In the report, it said: “In line with our statutory responsibility only viable options can go forward to NHSE for approval.

“Our engagement has told us that the public’s main concerns about this development are lack of information in relation to other options than the Shrewsbury Hub that have been considered and discounted, the preferred site at Oteley Road and patient ability to get to it particularly on public transport, and a lack of information and transparency of decision making, particularly in the early stages of the project.

“We acknowledge this. We are revisiting the options appraisal and site locations.

“The stakeholder reference group has been established and have an important role of improving public engagement/ involvement and transparency.

“The programme team are now working with the Stakeholder Reference Group to develop and evaluate other options.

The stakeholder reference group includes patients, practice managers, members of each practices’ Patient Participation Group, 24 Shropshire councillors, a Healthwatch representative and the Local Pharmaceutical Committee.

A consultation on the plans is expected to take place next spring after being postponed this autumn/winter so more options could be assessed.

To view the presentation to be made on Monday, visit bit.ly/3D8OSJB.