Future Fit: Ex-hospital boss backs new emergency care centre on A5 between Telford and Shrewsbury

David Sandbach, former chief executive of Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, has written to a letter to the chairs of both the Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin clinical commissioning groups setting out his views.

His letter follows a joint CCG meeting into the Future Fit review of Shropshire's healthcare which ended in stalemate.

The Future Fit review recommended that the best of four options would be to having one A&E serving Shropshire and Mid Wales at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The Princess Royal Hospital's women and children's unit would also be moved to RSH.

All six panel members from Shropshire CCG voted to take the plans to public consultation, but the six members representing Telford & Wrekin CCG voted against.

In his letter Mr Sandbach said Shropshire can have a successful emergency service at an affordable price if health bosses copy the way things are done in Northumberland.

Last year the first hospital in England purpose-built for emergency care opened in Northumberland. The facility in Cramlington has emergency care consultants on duty 24/7 and a range of specialists available seven days a week.

Its opening led to the downgrading of the A&E units at Hexham, Wansbeck and North Tyneside hospitals.

The A&E departments at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham hospitals now offer a 24-hour walk-in service for less serious conditions

Mr Sandbach said: "I, like other people in Shropshire, feel very disappointed with the situation the NHS currently finds itself in.

"The Future Fit board and CCG management have failed our county on two occasions – once last October and then again earlier this month.

"I do not wish to see NHS management fail a third time in 2017.

"In order to reverse this cycle of corporate failure, I would suggest the CCGs and SaTH agree to copy what has been successful elsewhere in the country in Northumbria.

"I think you should build a 210-bed specialist emergency care centre.

"A similar facility in Northumbria serves a population of about circa 500,000 and it cost the NHS £95 million to build and equip.

"This is significantly less than the £311m in the current outline business case which has been supported by the Future Fit board.

"I think the centre should be located along the A5 between Telford and Shrewsbury."

Last year health bosses said proposals for a single hospital had been discounted because they were deemed to be unaffordable.