Hospital transformation plans will mean fewer delays and better services, says top clinician

Mr Subramanian Kumaran says the current set up at the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospital is becoming increasingly difficult for patients and staff alike.

A key component of plans to upgrade acute hospital services across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales involves the transformation of the Shrewsbury site to specialise in the delivery of emergency care and the development of new 24/7 enhanced urgent care services at both of our hospital sites.

Mr Kumaran, Clinical Lead for Emergency Care for the Hospitals Transformation Programme and Emergency Medicine Consultant, said the much-needed improvements will bring together specialist teams so that patients are seen faster and in the right place, leading to a quicker diagnosis and shorter hospital stays.

“I strive to deliver the best care for patients and with our current service set-up this is becoming increasingly difficult. We need to change the way our services are delivered so that we can address the delays that our patients are facing and the challenging conditions in which our staff work.

“The planned service changes will deliver real improvements to both the urgent and emergency care received by our patients and will assist us in attracting and retaining more of the specialist staff we need.”

He said all residents will benefit from enhanced urgent care services at both Shrewsbury and Telford hospital sites, delivered through a new ‘A&E Local model’ in Telford and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week

"They will deliver improved care from the right teams of specialists, have the diagnostic and scanning equipment on site to diagnose and treat people on the same day and lead to shorter waits and a much better experience for patients currently attending our emergency departments with an urgent care need," he said.

“Most of our patients need urgent rather than emergency care, and I want to reassure our residents that our teams will be available around the clock to support their needs. The new urgent care services at both hospital sites will provide dedicated care from experienced staff, with access to a wide range of tests, including X-ray and blood tests, supporting all our communities.”

He said people from across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales will also benefit from modern, state-of-the-art emergency services, based in purpose-built facilities at the Shrewsbury hospital site, resulting in: shorter waiting times, with immediate access to the right specialty consultants;·reduced ambulance waiting times and shorter hospital stays; a better patient experience in modern, right-sized and fit-for-purpose facilities; dedicated facilities for children’s emergencies and facilities for patients with mental health needs.

“I believe that having a purpose-built emergency facility on one site will allow us to provide more effective and more streamlined care for our patients. Bringing our emergency teams onto a single site, along with supporting medical and surgical specialties, will mean that we can concentrate our expertise in one place, giving patients faster access to the right senior clinical advice.

“Currently, some of the patients that I see in our emergency departments need to be transferred to the other site for specialist team review, for example those patients who have had a stroke or who need cardiology input. By bringing teams together on one site, we can avoid unnecessary transfers between hospitals, helping us to ensure that the patient is in the right place, at the right time and supported by the right clinical team.”