Question of Shropshire's A&E site divides MPs

Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski said he would be doing his utmost to ensure that the new single-site emergency unit would be built in his constituency, which he said was a more central location for the majority of people in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

However, Telford MP Lucy Allan called for a "super hospital" to be built at the town's Princess Royal Hospital, saying the site offered the better facilities.

This week, health executives ruled out building a new hospital on a greenfield site between the two towns, saying it would cost the NHS between £15 million a year, diverting money away from other important services.

The Future Fit programme board, which is responsible for a shake-up of hospital services in the county, also effectively ruled out keeping emergency units at both Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal. Instead, a specialist emergency unit will built at one of hospitals, with new "urgent care centres", which deal with non-life-threatening conditions, also being built on both sites.

Mrs Allan said she was pleased the board had ruled out building on a new site.

"It makes more sense to build the new critical care unit on an existing site where it can be supported by existing facilities," she said. "It's essential that the new critical care unit comes to Telford. The new women and children's unit opened here a year ago and it makes sense to build the new critical care unit on the same site, creating a 'super hospital'.

"Telford is the fastest growing town in the West Midlands and has a huge healthcare need. It also has good road connections to the rest of the county, so it is logical to build this critical care unit here."

Mr Kawczynski said Shrewsbury was the best location for the new emergency unit, saying it was most centrally located.

He said some people living across the border in Wales already had to travel 50 miles to visit their nearest A&E, and moving it to Telford would make this even worse.

Mr Kawczynski said a petition on the Downing Street website, calling for the emergency unit to be kept at Shrewsbury, had already attracted nearly 8,000 names.

"It is very important that people sign it, because when it gets to 10,000 the Government has to consider it," he said.

Glyn Davies, MP for Montgomeryshire, also called for the unit to be kept at Shrewsbury, saying it was what the overwhelming majority of his constituents wanted.

"It's the people living in Montgomeryshire for whom distance is the most prominent issue, and the prospect of travelling to Telford is what worries people," he said.

North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson said the most important thing was ensuring that the Future Fit programme went ahead, saying it would benefit the county, regardless of where the new emergency unit was located.

He said patients with many life-threatening conditions were at the moment being taken to hospitals outside Shropshire, but the new single site would mean those services would be brought back into the county.

Mr Paterson said he welcomed the proposals to build a number of new "urgent care centres" across the county, which could potentially see many A&E functions being available in Oswestry and Whitchurch.

"They will mean they will be able to treat 75 per cent of the cases handled by A&E at the moment, and having that service in North Shropshire will be of great benefit to people in this area," he said.

Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, said a completely new hospital was always going to be too costly, and said he would be fighting to keep the emergency unit at Telford.

"The key now is to ensure full A&E services are retained at Telford, which I will continue to fight for," he said.

Telford & Wrekin Council leader Councillor Kuldip Sahota said it was common-sense decision to reject building a new hospital on a greenfield site.

"Full A&E services must remain at the Princess Royal," he said. "The PRH site offers the best solution for a sustainable hospital, and space, for development.

"Telford is growing rapidly and is the also area's main business centre, while Telford and has very clear and incontestable health needs."

A joint statement by the chief officers of the two clinical commissioning groups for the county said it was regrettable that the options involving greenfield sites had to be rejected, as that was what many people would have preferred.

David Evans, of Telford & Wrekin CCG, and Dr Caron Morton, of Shropshire CCG, added: "We have always known that the greenfield option was going to be the most expensive and we have done everything possible to see whether we could make this an affordable option.

"However, we have been forced to the conclusion that it would mean diverting an unacceptable level of funding from other frontline clinical services like primary, community or mental health care."

The board is due to announce its preferred option in October.

Healthwatch groups for both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin said they would ensure that patients' views were taken into account as part of the process.