New hospital between Shrewsbury and Telford should be considered, says council chief

Councillor Peter Nutting said huge increases to the costs of Future Fit – the plan to reorganise Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and Princess Royal Hospital Telford (PRH) – mean that other options should be considered to ensure public money is spent in the best way.

His comments come after it was revealed that the costs of the Future Fit plan have gone up from £312m to £500m.

Councillor Nutting has also suggested that any new hospital could be built off Preston Boats Island on the A5, along with a parkway railway station.

He said: "It comes down to money. It is public money, we have to spend it wisely, but also we want the best for the residents of Shropshire and Mid Wales.

"And actually, if a single hospital is the answer, let's not be frightened to say that.

"It may be that doing up the two hospitals makes sense, but I am starting to question if it does. I do not know the answer. I do not know how much a new hospital will cost to build."

'We have to do something'

Speaking after NHS figures revealed that Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages RSH and PRH, had the worst performance in the country for people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E in December, Councillor Nutting said it was vital to find a solution to a "failing system".

He said: "It is pure finance. Everything has its limit and I do not know how the figure has been arrived at. Someone needs to really get their head around the figures, but if you are talking over £500m that is an enormous amount of money. You can do a lot of building work for that sort of money.

"What we have got now does not work. We have to do something, whether the two hospital solution or a single hospital solution is better I do not know and someone needs to get their head around it."

The idea of a new hospital has previously been discarded, with the current Future Fit plan set to base full A&E services at RSH, along with consultant led women and children's services, while PRH would become a centre for planned care.

But earlier this month, Telford MP Lucy Allan, who has opposed Future Fit, also opened the door on the idea of an entirely new hospital to cover both towns.

She said: "If we’re going to spend £500m-plus on hospital care in Shropshire, it’s time to rethink options, including new standalone critical care hospital on M54."

The proposal has previously been backed by former PRH chief executive David Sandbach, and Dr Laura Davies, the former Labour candidate for Shrewsbury & Atcham, who was removed from her post over her support for the plan.