Health campaigner voices 'grand disappointment' over Future Fit

Gill George, chairwoman of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Defend Our NHS, has voiced her concerns after a £312 funding package was announced to allow the process to proceed to public consultation.

She says Future Fit is about cutting services and not investing in patient care.

Ms George said: "It is a grand disappointment they are going ahead with it. This is not about investment in patient care.

"This is about money that will be used to drive forward the biggest NHS cuts package we've ever seen in this area.

"If you think what £312m could achieve if it were invested in GP services, community services, more beds and staff; instead it's going to be used to make cuts.

See also:

• Future Fit funding is 'biggest investment' in history of Shropshire's NHS

• Hospital rebuilds may start in 2019

• Telford council leader urges people to have a say in Future Fit consultation

• £312 million funding means go-ahead for Shropshire A&E shake-up

• How the hospitals could look

• Future Fit proposals clear a huge hurdle

"Research shows clearly that longer journeys to get to A&E if you are critically ill will mean that more people are going to die."

She said the public consultation would force people to choose which A&E they wanted to close in the county.

She added: "There are two options. They are making people choose which A&E to close.

"We want both our A&Es and both our hospitals. It’s what we need for an area of over 2,000 square miles, three-and-a-half times the size of Greater London."

Fears over NHS in rural areas

A nurse and Shropshire councillor says rural communities need to be included in the plans for Future Fit.

Tracey Huffer, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow East and a nurse in Ludlow, welcomed the funding but said the money should not be used as an excuse to centralise services in Shrewsbury and Telford at the expense of rural services and community hospitals.

She said: “The assumption behind the grant is that modernisation of buildings and services will reduce costs. That money can then be used to fund services in the community.

“But although the funding will lead to savings, the costs of health service provision are going up rapidly. The danger is that all the savings will be absorbed in Shrewsbury and Telford leaving a pittance for rural communities.”