Telford A&E closure threat: Petition launched over hospital proposals

It comes after leaked papers revealed Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be put forward as the preferred site to house Shropshire's only A&E.

The £28 million Women and Children's Centre, which opened almost two years ago at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, will also move to Shrewsbury, according to papers from a meeting last week.

The option was recommended by a 'non-financial appraisal' which looks at the most practical solution for future healthcare. Another appraisal, which will also take into account cost, has still to report.

The petition calling for PRH to keep its A&E service and Women and Children's Centre has been launched online by Ildi Berry, of Telford.

It reads: "I urge people to get behind PRH and back our campaign so that we can make the voice of people for whom the PRH is their hospital clearly heard.

"I am urging our two MPs to join us in the fight for the future of our hospital."

• See the petition at change.org/p/shrewsbury-telford-nhs-trust-telford-princess-royal-keep-our-a-e-mother-baby-unit

'Time costs lives – so keep our hospital services close'.

That was the rallying call from people in Oswestry and Mid Wales who want as many patient services as possible to stay at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital instead of moving further away to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

Out-patient Georgina Becker says she has been travelling to the RSH from her home near The Meadows School in Oswestry for regular treatment for the past six months.

She said: "I have a five-year-old child so as a mother, where to take your child if there is an emergency is always at the back of your mind.

"I believe the emergency department should be at RSH because that is far enough to take your child if something went badly wrong. As a long-term hospital patient at the RSH myself, I think that other treatment services that I have to use regularly should be based there too because travelling to Shrewsbury so often costs me a lot of money already and it would be even further and cost even more to get to Telford, taking more time."

Bernard Coslett, 68 of Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, has worked in Oswestry for 30 years as a florist.

He said: "My wife Susan had a new hip at the RSH on July 13 and there were no delays and I'm seeing the hospital's oncology team for treatment for prostate cancer. We can't fault the NHS and want all operations to stay in Shrewsbury and for the services to pretty much stay as they are as far as possible."

Holly Keeble, 17, who lives in Pant and is a sales assistant for Llynclys Farm Shop, is actively campaigning for services to stay at the RSH. "I have signed a petition on this and would like to see others do the same – it is such an important issue and lives are at stake," she said.

Stephen Hignett, 35, who lives in Whittington, added: "Everything boils down to money in the end – it always does. "I would like to see emergencies and more general treatment taking place at Oswestry's Orthopaedic Hospital – but that ship sailed a long time ago. I was bitten by an insect in my garden a month ago and went to Shrewsbury's A&E department and ended up sitting next to someone who was openly self-harming."

Protest march in Wellington

The online petition has already been signed by around 500 people, with dozens of supporters leaving comments on the website.

Helen Norton, of Telford, wrote: "We need our A&E dept! Telford is growing and to expect it's residents to add a 20min journey to get emergency treatment is ridiculous!!! It's not about Telford vs Shrewsbury it's about common sense! Both towns are growing and both require A&E."

April Boddison, of Telford, said: "We need these facilities in Telford, especially the women and children's centre. It's two years old and madness to spend all that money on a fantastic centre then close it."

Those behind Future Fit, the body behind the reorganisation of hospitals in Shropshire, said this is just one stage in the process and that plans will go out to public consultation before the end of the year, before any final decision is made.

Readers debate rages on the Telford A&E threat

Lynda Parton: "Well £8 million is nothing compared to the cost of closing the £28m children/women's unit at Princess Royal Hospital that they are talking about. We have total idiots running the trust I am afraid. Instead of talking about closing A&E's etc they should be demanding more government funding particularly as we are giving services to Welsh patients, we need much more money."

Neil Phillips: "They should keep both A&Es open and all of the Shropshire MPs should be fighting for this. More NHS funding will be needed to achieve this as it is chronically underfunded at the moment."

John Young: "This is a very touchy subject and I know the NHS is not too well off at the moment but I think they should shut both hospitals and move to where the old sugar beet factory was in Allscott. There you could make a slip road from the A5 duel carriage way and also make its own train station. From some parts in Telford it would be faster and also only minutes more for the Shrewsbury population. I guess draw backs though would be it's a bit further for Mid Wales people and the money it would cost."

Jill Turner: "No A&E in Telford when they have the only paediatric unit in Shropshire?! How ludicrous! It's Stafford hospital all over again. Both North Staffs and New Cross are already under staffed and over resourced. A county as large as Shropshire with one A&E is a disaster waiting to happen. All we need is a major emergency and they won't cope. Our four-year-old daughter would have died in January if it wasn't for the emergency paediatric team at Telford following a haemorrhage. Had the ambulance have gone to a Shrewsbury she wouldn't be here today."

Craig Stevens: "We are the fifth largest economy in the world, so surely we can afford to keep both."

Angie Beck: "They should leave the Women's and Children's Centre where it is, as its only been open two years now.

"Also leave our A&E where it is as well, this will cause loads of problems for the people of Telford even the old people etc, so this is madness.

"Hope they both stay where they are."

Mark Parry: "That is a violation of their rights to proper healthcare access.

"So whoever is to blame should be held accountable for these actions.

"And that also includes MPs and politicians too."

Chailean Elmquist: "I most sincerely pray that neither A&E will close, they are stretched as it is – how can it possibly solve this situation by closing one of them?"

Donna Craddock: "Disgraceful, both hospitals play an important part and cover vast areas. Having to travel further will definitely cut their targets as there will be more deaths on route."

Melissa Kelly-Jones: "Cutting local services and building more houses where there already isn't the infrastructure to cope. It just doesn't make sense. Surely someone, somewhere must see that?!"

Lynda Madeley: "To the people in Shrewsbury who are feeling happy at this proposed decision I remind you that the RHS A&E is already stretched beyond its capacity, ambulances queuing outside and not enough beds to transfer patients to.

"This will only become even worse with only one A&E and ambulances will be even more stretched because they will be tied up in Telford, a no win situation, we all need to get together to insist on better funding for both hospitals to ensure we all get the service we deserve."