Council will not be silenced over hospital plans

The controversial hospital plans would see the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) become home to Shropshire’s only 24-hour A&E service.

The Shrewsbury hospital would also take on consultant-led women and children’s services, currently based at Telford.

A planning application has been submitted this week for the transformation of the Royal Shewsbury Hospital including a new 30,000 square metre building housing women’s and children’s services and an expanded A&E.

Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies has accused the government of ‘ignoring’ the council over a legal challenge against the ‘Future Fit’ proposals.

“The hospital reconfiguration process has taken yet another step forward,” said Cllr Davies during the council’s cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“I’ve been doing this privately with the government, but I’ll do it publicly today. We wrote to the government on a legal challenge in respect of the hospital reconfiguration back in March this year.

“They have not had the courtesy up until this point to even respond to our legal concerns. It’s simply not good enough, we need members of parliament to be raising this in the House of Parliament.

“If we’re going to be ignored as a council on something which is so significant as our A&E being closed and our women’s and children’s centre being transferred to Shrewsbury.

“What we won’t do as a council is be silenced on this issue. It’s an issue that is of great concern to our community and the government is simply not responding to our letters or our legal challenge, it’s simply not good enough.

“It’s simply not fair.”

Telford & Wrekin Council has previously written to former secretary of state for health Jeremy Hunt asking for A&E services to remain at both hospitals.

Cllr Davies added that last year 22,000 people signed the council’s petition re-evaluate the ‘Future Fit’ plans and against the closure of the A&E at the Princess Royal Hospital.

“I say to the hospital trust again, please work with us on this,” added Cllr Davies. “We know that you’ve got £ 312 million from the government to take these changes forward.

“We know that it will cost in the region of half-a-billion pounds, if not more for these reconfiguration services to take place and Telford gets the worst of all worlds.

“I hope saying this publicly that we’ll get a response from the Department for Health and we’ll get a response from the government’s legal unit and we’ll also get a response and action from members of parliament, who have up until this point sat back and done nothing to help our cause.”