'West Mercia could have best health service in western Europe'

David Sandbach, former Chief Executive of Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, said he hoped people would continue to give their opinions of the new Future Fit scheme, which he believed would greatly benefit patients in the long term.

Mr Sandbach, speaking at a south west Shropshire Council local joint committee meeting, in Edgton Village Hall, near Craven Arms, said: "Whilst I do not agreed 100 per cent with all the proposals, if it's introduced as it's been designed, it will be the most advanced health care system in western Europe.

"It will leave America well behind, as well as parts of New Zealand and Australia."

The Future Fit programme is examining how hospital, GP and community care services can best be delivered in the future.

One of the more controversial plans is to reorganise accident and emergency care in Shropshire, possibly with just one unit to replace those currently operating at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital and the Shrewsbury Royal Hospital.

Dr Bill Gowans, a clinician who has worked on the programme, said there would a minimum of four urgent care centres, and a maximum of seven, around the region, which most people would go to as part of the plans.

"The urgent care units are likely to be in Telford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow – which has come just before Bridgnorth – and probably Whitchurch," he said.

"If there were seven Bishop's Castle would probably be the seventh, but I don't think we would be able to afford that many.

"I believe the urgent care centres should be open for a minimum of 16 hours, which should all have the same facilities, otherwise people will start using emergency care centres again.

"If the use of A&E is replaced properly by the urgent care facilities, the service will be better.

"This will be one of the few whole system plans in the UK. It's clinician orientated and I am pretty proud of that."

A number of options have already been considered as far as A&E is concerned, 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 half way between the two towns.

Dr Gowans said the emergency centre would no longer be a walk-in service, with patients being transferred by GPs or ambulances.

"Travel times that are not that critical, it's the quality and speed of the initial service that's most important," he said.

"Travel times to Telford would be longer for people living in south Shropshire, but the death rates would still go down if the services were provided in a better way."

Dr Gowans said only 10 per cent of ambulance calls needed critical care, with 50 per cent going to hospital without the need for blue lights and the other 40 per cent not needing an ambulance at all.