Work starts on new £24m bid to get Shropshire patients' operations done faster

The new planned care hub is being developed at Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford and it is expected to start taking patients for planned operations next summer.

Health chiefs say patients from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales will benefit from fewer cancellations and delays for treatment, shorter waiting times and a "much-improved experience".

Health leaders say the new hub will provide more theatres and recovery beds dedicated to day case surgery, increasing the number of same day operations that can take place – and enabling services to be provided all year round.

A spokesperson for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust said: "The planned care hub is fully aligned with the Hospitals Transformation Programme (HTP), which will see the Telford hospital site specialise in planned care and the Shrewsbury hospital site specialise in emergency care, with both sites providing 24/7 urgent care services, delivered through an A&E Local model in Telford."

Louise Barnett, the trust's chief executive, said: “This is a significant investment in our Telford site which will improve the care that we provide to all our communities.

“The new dedicated planned care hub will enable us to deliver day case surgery all year round, so patients from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales waiting for treatment will benefit from shorter waiting times for their operations.”

Dr John Jones, Medical Director (Acting), said: “The new planned care hub will mean that operations can be performed quickly and effectively in one place which is fantastic news for our patients.

“As well as shorter waits for surgery, they will be more likely to go home on the same day and will be less likely to need additional treatment after surgery leading to much improved outcomes and patient experience.”

South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne has welcomed the provision of more theatres and recovery and enabling services to be provided all year round.

Mr Dunne said: "The new planned care hub at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford is excellent news for constituents in south Shropshire and communities across the whole county.

“Tackling the backlog in treatments is vital for patient outcomes, and requires this extra capacity in our local NHS. The new hub will reduce delays, ensure that waiting times are shortened and improve patient experience.”