Health chiefs quizzed over Shropshire A&E change plans

People attending last night's Ellesmere Area Local Joint Committee said they feared more pressure would be put on Wrexham's already busy A&E unit if similar services in Shropshire move to Telford.

At the meeting a presentation was given about the NHS Future Fit programme, which is looking at hospital services in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, and shaping future health care services.

A number of options have already been considered, including building a new A&E centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, building a new centre at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford or putting a new purpose-built centre halfway between the two towns.

But one resident asked: "Has any consideration been given to how busy Wrexham A&E currently is? And has any consideration been given to how much busier it will be if A&E services are moved to Telford?"

• Read more about the NHS Future Fit programme here

Presenting the scheme, Paul Tulley, chief operating officer from the Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said no firm plans were currently in place and accessibility for patients was among important factors to be considered.

"Travel times for patients are a big part of evaluating these options. Quality of care, deliverability and affordability are the other ones," he said. "We are currently in pre-consultation stage. We are a good number of months away from going out to consultation.

"We are developing a long list of scenarios which need reducing to a shortlist. We will establish a preferred option, go back to public consultation and do a business case before implementation. By Christmas we should have shortlist of options and at the moment we should go out to public consultation by the summer of next year. One strong recommendation has been a single emergency centre serving Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals."

Mr Tulley added: "We believe by looking at health services differently we will be able to deliver better services."

A series of workshops have already been held in Wem, Telford, Newtown and Shrewsbury to help health bosses draw up a long list of where and how services could be delivered. Further workshops are due to be held in Shrewsbury and Telford in November.

Ann Hartley, Shropshire Councillor for Ellesmere, said: "It is looking at all hospital services in Shropshire so it affects every one of you. It's not simple and we are not rushing into any decisions. We are still in the consultation process. We hope everyone will follow the process and get involved."