Future Fit: Explain yourselves, demands Shropshire consultant

Bruce Summers, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, says the Future Fit board needs to "show its working" over the controversial decision.

Mr Summers, 63, from Cheswell near Newport, says that only a full explanation over the reasoning behind the decision will be acceptable to the public.

The long-awaited Future Fit recommendation was announced last week and suggests creating one A&E at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, as well as moving the Women and Children's Centre to the site – despite only opening the £28 million facility at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford two years ago.

The decision has sparked outrage in the Telford area, with the local council threatening legal action to prevent the plans going ahead.

Mr Summers said the public are owed "openness, transparency, and candour" over the decision.

The surgeon, who has worked for the hospital trust for 27 years, said: "As a doctor and surgeon I owe, by law, a duty of openness, transparency and candour to each and every one of my patients. By the same token David Evans and the Future Fit committee owe the same obligations to the many thousands of patients who live in the Telford area for their recommendation regarding the siting of A&E services in Shropshire.

"Only a detailed transcription of discussions that have taken place in their meetings and release of all documents to the public will be acceptable to explain the reasons behind their preference."

Mr Summers said that a public explanation over the decision would also help to ensure there is no "tribalism" between RSH and PRH.

He added: "If their decision is based on a true and independent assessment of a highly complex issue then they have nothing to fear in disclosure and they can stand full square behind their judgement.

"Failure to release such documents will only fuel the viewpoint that after many recent years of excellent cohesive cooperation between the two hospitals, there still lingers the tribalism and partiality that so affected our relations twenty years ago."

It is understood that no transcript exists of the Future Fit meeting where the decision over the recommendation was taken, and that there was no recording of the discussion. The only record of the conversations that took place over the decision will be in the minutes of the meeting.

Mr Summers' intervention comes as sources indicate that there is disquiet among some staff at the trust over the decision-making process, and how the conclusion was reached.

The Future Fit recommendation, which still needs to be approved by both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin CCGs, outlines a plan where Shrewsbury will have an emergency and critical care centre, as well as an urgent care centre. The facility would treat people who suffer with strokes or who are injured in car accidents.

Decisions

Telford would still have an urgent care centre, which would provide about 80 per cent of the services that a normal A&E department would offer, as well as planned surgery and the majority of day surgery.

No formal decisions will be made until Summer 2017, once a formal public consultation has been held.

Making the announcement, David Evans, joint senior responsible officer for NHS Future Fit, said: "I need to stress that this is not a final decision.

"We are recommending to the two CCGs that, in the board's opinion, we are ready to begin a public consultation on the future of hospital services."

Richard Caddy, speaking on behalf of the Future Fit board, said: "There is no verbatim transcript of the meeting. However, the audit process for approval of last week's decision is available on the Future Fit website. It includes summary paper detailing the considerations that went into the decision and the issues which still have to be addressed.

"The minutes of the meeting will be appearing on the website as soon as possible."