MP in crunch talks with hospital boss
Telford MP David Wright is to hold talks with health bosses today where he will demand to know the future of the Princess Royal Hospital.
Telford MP David Wright is to hold talks with health bosses today where he will demand to know the future of the Princess Royal Hospital.
Mr Wright will meet Tom Taylor, the hospital's chief executive, to air his concerns over the possible move of services from the Princess Royal to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Meanwhile, Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has written to Mr Taylor voicing his concerns about the increasing use of demountable buildings at the Telford hospital.
Mr Wright said children's acute services should be located at the Princess Royal as Telford was the largest town in the county and had a growing population.
He added: "I will be demanding answers and some straight talking because my constituents want to know what is going on.
"People in Telford are sick and tired of health bosses treating us as the junior partner in our relationship with Shrewsbury."
Mr Pritchard said he was unhappy at the continued and increasing use of demountable buildings at the Princess Royal.
He said: "It is important that medical and clinical services are delivered in proper buildings and not demountable buildings."
A spokesman for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said: "The trust is currently looking at opportunities to provide space for extra beds within the Princess Royal Hospital. While one option might be to add a new modular ward, the cost of this at around £5 million is prohibitive and clearly this type of investment would end up having an adverse impact on other services.
"Therefore we are looking carefully at other options to provide additional beds at Princess Royal, including providing a modular building for outpatient services so that these areas could be converted to accommodate about 30 additional medical beds."
Councillor Pat Smart, chairman of Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council, said she too was concerned about demountable buildings, particularly over the move of paediatrics into one.
She said: "I am gravely concerned that once they have moved the paediatrics there there will be no way back for it.
"They need to understand that we have a community that needs the services of the hospital. If we don't fight for the hospital we are going to lose it."
