22,000 people sign petition against Telford A&E plans as fight reaches Downing Street

Signed by more than 22,000 people, the petition was delivered in person yesterday by Councillor Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council.

The petition urges the Government to rethink controversial Future Fit hospital transformation plans which would see the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital become the base for the county's only 24-hour A&E department.

Under the plans, the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford will have what has been described as an 'A&E local', while consultant-led women and children's services will move from Telford to Shrewsbury.

Councillor Shaun Davies said: "There's huge strength of feeling across Telford and Wrekin that hospital transformation plans are not right for our borough.

"When people were formally consulted on the plans, two in three were against them and now, more than 22,000 people have once again taken action to urge the government to listen and intervene before the final business case is approved.

"Telford &Wrekin Council is firmly on the side of our residents and I won’t stop pushing for the plans to be reconsidered.

"Having grown up in Telford, and bringing my own family up here, I know how vital it is to protect these services for our borough.

"I'm bringing the borough's voice right to the heart of government and look forward to their response."

Councillor Andy Burford recently slammed the plans to downgrade Telford's 24/7 A&E to an "A&E Local" saying that it had been discredited by a number of clinical bodies.

He said that Telford would become the largest town in England without a fully functional A&E service if the Future Fit proposals were to come into play.

"The cost of the Government’s downgrade plan is between £500 - £600 million, yet they have only allocated a loan of £312million, which will inevitably mean some vital services will have to be cut as a result," Mr Burford added.