Future Fit: Surgeon accuses Shropshire A&E campaigners of 'scaremongering'
A medical director at Shropshire's major hospitals has taken campaigners to task over "scaremongering" about the Future Fit programme.
Mark Cheetham, care group medical director at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust took issue with comments from Shropshire Defend Our NHS, claiming that Future Fit is about cutting funding and that the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre could be moved from Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Writing on Twitter the colo-rectal surgeon said:
The tweet came in response to a blog post from Shropshire Defend Our NHS which discussed the current Future Fit delay and stated: "Shrewsbury's Lingen Davies Cancer Centre was set to be closed down, with Shropshire people facing lengthy journeys for radiotherapy or chemotherapy."
Mr Cheetham also questioned claims that the plans to create one emergency centre, at either Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or Princess Royal Hospital Telford, are about cutting funding.
He said:
A decision on a preferred option for the Future Fit Programme, which was expected to be taken on Wednesday, was delayed in the face of legal threats from Telford & Wrekin Council.
David Evans, the man in charge of Future Fit said they would use the four-week delay to address the concerns raised by the council.
The council's leader Shaun Davies responded to Mr Cheetham's tweet, with:
Replying, Mr Cheetham said:
The comment prompted Councillor Davies to fire back with:
This led Mr Cheetham to respond with:
The chairman of Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Julian Povey, also used social media to express his feelings in the wake of the latest delay citing the plans for an emergency department and urgent care centres as a method to deliver better care.
He said:
