Future Fit: Doubt cast over process, says Telford council leader

The process which will determine the future of the county's healthcare began four years ago and has cost around £4 million to date.

Earlier this month, Shropshire's Clinical Commissioning Group and its Telford & Wrekin counterparts signed off on Future Fit's "pre-consultation business case" and consultation documents, which will be used to ask the public what they think.

NHS England has now been asked to validate the documents, a process expected to take around two weeks, then the public will finally get the long-awaited opportunity to make their own comments on the proposals from early December.

But Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies says doubt has been cast on the process after it was left off a list, published on Wednesday, of 12 priority schemes for funding for NHS groups and organisations.

Councillor Davies said: “We have been very clear all along – we believe the whole Future Fit process is flawed.

“There seems to be a clear message from NHS England that, after four years of work, Future Fit is not seen as one of the highest quality schemes with the strongest potential to help meet future demand in the NHS.

"How can it be right that a process can drag on for four years to reach a point where it wants to consult on a preferred option that as yet has no clear funding.

“We’ve said many times that Future Fit makes no sense – even by their own standards this would be the biggest nonsense decision that would just baffle residents.

“Local people deserve better health services, whether that be in the community or hospital. They deserve investment in the right solutions that will care for, protect, support and enhance their communities and not pitch hospital versus hospital or community against community.

“It is time for a change in local NHS decision-makers and to rip up their tired old one-dimensional thinking and now move with pace and purpose to design solutions that meet the specific needs of all our different communities.”

The process has faced considerable delay with disagreement over the proposals and the threat of a legal challenge from Telford & Wrekin Council, leading to a review of the plans.

The preferred option, agreed by the CCGs, is for a single A&E unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, while planned services will be centred at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.

The consultant-led women and children unit will move to Shrewsbury under the plans, although Telford would retain a midwife-led unit.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said there is no guarantee of funding being available for the £300 million reorganisation, according to Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard and Telford MP Lucy Allan.

The MPs met with Mr Hunt this week to voice concerns about the length of time it was taking to reach a decision.