Time running out to stop Future Fit – Telford MP

Lucy Allan, MP for Telford, is urging Telford & Wrekin Council to launch a judicial review of the decision to go ahead with the Future Fit plans for the reorganisation of the county's major hospitals – Princess Royal Hospital Telford and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The proposals will see Royal Shrewsbury Hospital become home to the only full A&E in the county, as well taking on consultant led women & children's services from the Telford site.

An independent panel that reviewed the plans after opposition from Telford & Wrekin Council, has suggested PRH could become an 'A&E Local', as opposed to the current proposal for an urgent care centre.

The terms of an A&E Local have not yet been fully defined but it does appear to be an upgrade on the original plan, although NHS England has suggested it would only be open for "core hours".

As well as urging legal action Ms Allan has also said the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock's decision to sign off on the plans "can only have been an error born from the chaos that Brexit is creating in Parliament".

She suggested that a legal challenge could force more compromise over the proposals and has said that if the council does not go ahead with it she will look at other means to do so.

She said: "The council is running out of time to mount a legal challenge to Future Fit. They have long threatened NHS management with judicial review which would delay Future Fit and incentivise NHS Management to compromise and agree to 24/7 A&E at Princess Royal. Such a legal challenge, however, has very strict time limits and the time to act is now."

Surprising

She added: "The council can mount their own legal challenge. I would like to see them do this. But if they won’t, and time is tight, I have been in discussion with solicitors who are experts in public law, who can mount a challenge on behalf of a group of residents, who qualify for legal aid. I am actively exploring this avenue. I hope such a challenge will bring NHS management and others to the table, so a solution can be found. No one is listening to Telford – in 10 years we will be a population of 202,000 people. We need a 24/7 A&E."

Ms Allan has also described the Secretary of State for Health's decision to back the plans as "surprising" and questioned why there was no discussion with MPs before the announcement.

She said: "The Secretary of State approved Future Fit on the day that Boris Johnson made a powerful and passionate speech at Conservative Party Conference about Leave voting areas, where people feel forgotten and ignored.

"The Prime Minister expressed his genuine desire to narrow inequalities and saw the NHS as the ultimate symbol that every person is of equal worth and equal dignity.

"It is not credible that his health secretary could have sat in the front row for that speech and then go back to his office in London and sign off on this outdated plan, one at odds with everything the Prime Minister seeks to do for our country and our future.

"When the decision was made none of the usual protocol applied. There was no discussion with MPs, no press brief or news release. No ambitious government minister would announce controversial news about the NHS, so close to an election. The announcement contradicted the clearly defined agenda of Government. This can only have been an error born from the chaos that Brexit is creating in Parliament.

"I am pushing for the decision to be reversed. If action cannot be taken promptly by Government, then any legal challenge must be quickly mounted. If delayed the courts would rule a challenge as out of time. For those who want to stop Future Fit the time to act is now."