Support grows for Telford A&E petition
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition demanding a rescue plan from the Government to avoid the night-time closure of Telford's A&E.
Staffing issues at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) led to its board voting in favour of a temporary overnight closure of services at Princess Royal Hospital from November.
But hospital bosses say it could be avoidable in the 'short-term' if it secures an additional seven middle grade doctors and 15 A&E nurses.
The petition was launched on Thursday by Telford & Wrekin Council’s leader Shaun Davies and already has thousands of supporters.
Councillor Davies, who has encouraged everyone to sign, said: “This petition calling for Government to organise a rescue plan to prevent the avoidable closure will mean that people can make their voices heard directly to those at the top.
“Having met with hospital trust’s chairman and chief executive last week we know that the overnight closure of PRH’s A&E is avoidable.
"A solution is there if those responsible higher up nationally choose to intervene.
“Now the closure is due to happen in November, Government can no longer wash their hands of this issue. We need to do all we can to pressure people into taking action.
“I would also urge people to write to their local MP and to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care urging him to intervene.”
It comes as Telford's MP Lucy Allan has written to Health Education England and NHS Improvement to seek help with sourcing middle grade doctors for SaTH.
She has also written to Telford & Wrekin Council to ask the authority to reinstate the community infrastructure levy and deliver a one-off capital injection to provide increased diagnostic capacity at PRH.
And she has called on the council to provide the same level of support to SaTH as Shropshire Council for discharges of reablement beds in nursing homes or timely packages of care to ease the pressure at Telford's A&E.
Ms Allan said: "Together with a team of local councillors and the trust, we are working hard to stop this closure.
"We are trying to find an immediate solution to the doctor shortage.
"Drafting in doctors is the only viable short term solution. That is why I have written to Health Education England to persuade them to allocate the trust two middle grade doctors and I have asked NHS Improvement to encourage other nearby trusts to each provide one of their middle grade doctors to SaTH.
"I have asked the Secretary of State for Health to support this request.
"This is a national health service so why shouldn’t trusts work collaboratively.
"This is an unusual step, however, it is clearly the way forward.
"Although I will be focusing on securing more doctors for the trust, there are other steps we as a community can take to help the hospital in the longer term and the council has an important role to play."
The petition can be signed at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/229602
