The Health Secretary today announced approval for an A&E Local to be established at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.
This follows vigorous campaigning to save Telford’s A&E by MPs, Councillors and the local community. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust was awarded £312m last year to improve the County’s two ageing hospitals under a reconfiguration plan known as ‘Future Fit.’
Lucy Allan MP for Telford said: “Its clear to everyone we need an A&E in Telford. I am glad the Health Secretary recognises this need. That’s an important step forward.
“As a community, we have all been working to ensure that the £312m hospital investment program for Shropshire hospitals meets Telford’s needs. We are a rapidly growing new town, remote from other population centres, with poor connectivity. We also have areas of significant deprivation. Of course we need an A&E. I am grateful to the Health Secretary for working closely with us to achieve this.
“It was never acceptable for the local hospital management to plan to invest huge sums of taxpayers’ money in services at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, while failing to plan to provide much needed services in Telford, an area of far greater need and a larger population.
“As a community, we have been hugely concerned by the ‘Future Fit’ plans and wholly opposed to them. The Hospital Trust has made no attempt to reassure Telford residents how, under their planned model A&E would be accessed some 20 miles from Telford. Throughout, hospital bureaucrats have simply refused to listen to local people and not taken the trouble to understand the community they are meant to serve.
“The A&E Local for PRH announced today may be the much needed step forward in this sorry saga. The Government has provided the funding, but the hospital management seems unable to work out how to spend it in a way that delivers better hospital services for our area.
“Without having seen any details of the new A&E Local for PRH, it’s not clear what services will be delivered. However, I am pleased the Health Secretary has confirmed Telford’s Princess Royal has been given the green light to establish its own A&E Local and my constituents will not have to travel to Shrewsbury to access A&E.
“The Health Secretary expects a report back from NHS England with more details of the new A&E Local within a month. We all want to know what A&E services the new A&E Local will provide at the Princess Royal and when this will be introduced.
“Until we see the detail of the A&E Local, the community remains wholly opposed to the Hospital Trust’s current plans. I understand the Future Fit plans cannot proceed until the A&E Local plans are finalised.
“We will continue to fight together to ensure Telford’s health needs are met and not ignored by local health bosses.”
