New ward and CT scanner for Shropshire hospitals in bid to cut backlogs

Funding has also been secured to create an additional ward at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital which is due to open next spring.

Nigel Lee, chief operating officer, revealed the news during a meeting of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's board of directors yesterday.

It comes as record backlogs of patients waiting for routine treatment have continued to grow.

But Mr Lee said the additional mobile CT scanner should help to reduce waiting times.

He told board members: "I'm very pleased that with the board's support we have been able to secure a CT mobile.

"It arrived on site this week and that's for the next six months.

"That will be really significant for helping reduce the waits, increase the throughput and for the benefit of patients."

He said there were still "significant pressures" facing elective services and clinical prioritisation "remains critical".

The board was told that demand on A&E and urgent care "remains huge" and the number of Covid patients being cared for at RSH and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford had only reduced slightly since August.

Both sites have a Covid ward and the trust is caring for an average of between 25 and 30 coronavirus patients, with one to four patients in critical care.

Mr Lee added: "We've been successful in getting the capital for an additional modular ward at Shrewsbury.

"Work on that started within the last couple of weeks.

"That will be in use in April next year, so whilst it won't help us in the next few months it's absolutely securing the investment we need going forward which will help both elective work as well as non-elective."

Professor Clive Deadman, a non-executive director on the board, said Covid and the restrictions imposed on the hospitals – resulting in reduced capacity, were "really bringing us to quite a difficult place".

But he noted that the NHS was struggling nationally with "targets of all sorts being breached to an enormous scale".

Chris Preston, SaTH's deputy chief executive, said the trust was working hard to push forward the Future Fit plans but in the meantime it needed help from partner organisations.

He added: "I don't feel at the moment we are getting as much support and flexibility from those partners as we need."

Mr Lee said there had been significant change and impact over the last few months with capacity in the community, especially social and home care.

He added it was important to work with primary care services – GP practices – to ensure patients are being given information about alternative services to A&E where necessary.

Chair of the trust, Dr Catriona McMahon, said: "It isn't a problem that we ourselves can resolve. This is very much a problem that we've got to be looking at across the whole of the system.

"Is it actually possible to be looking for some innovative solutions in their area – where maybe we could argue for diversions from NHS funding to support their area, which would then take the pressure off of us to some extent?"