Future Fit: Shropshire health bosses say new ideas will be welcome in public consultation

It comes after Andrew Eade, leader of the Conservative opposition on Telford & Wrekin Council, said one option to be considered should be building a specialist county centre for emergency care.

His suggestion followed a fact-finding visit by Councillor Eade to a similar specialist centre in Cramlington, Northumberland.

He wrote a letter to Dr Jo Leahy, chairwoman, and David Evans, chief officer for Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group, saying he was “surprised and disappointed” the CCG has not organised its own visit to the facility.

But health chiefs on Shropshire CCG and Telford & Wrekin CCG have insisted people will still be able to put their own ideas forward during public consultation.

The CCG's preferred option for Shropshire involves a single A&E unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, while planned services would be centred at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.

In a joint statement, Dr Simon Freeman, accountable officer for Shropshire CCG, and Mr Evans, from Telford & Wrekin CCG, said: "The purpose of a public consultation about the Future Fit proposals is to engage and seek the views of the wider community who use the acute hospital services provided by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

"The proposed model of care for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin is where one hospital provides emergency care services – including women and children’s inpatient services – and the other hospital provides planned care services.

"NHS Shropshire CCG and NHS Telford & Wrekin CCG have agreed to progress to a formal public consultation and we are now waiting for approval to go ahead. "Although we welcome the on-going conversation about the future sustainability of our health services, when the consultation starts, we will consider any views expressed and any new ideas or suggestions about the proposed options or the model of care that may be put forward."

After closing three existing A&E departments in Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck, the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust built a specialist emergency care centre for £100 million in 2005, located in the middle of three existing general hospitals.

The general hospitals were also retained and now provide planned surgery and care, while the new centre provides services for trauma, acute medicine, cardiology, strokes, coronary care, maternity and general surgery, along with a special care baby unit.

Councillor Eade wants to see a similar model introduced in Shropshire, saying that better outcomes have been achieved for patients in Northumbria and the scheme could help save millions of pounds.

NHS England is yet to give the go-ahead for the public consultation to begin.

The preferred option for Shropshire also involves moving the consultant-led women and children’s unit to Shrewsbury, although Telford would retain a midwife-led unit.

Walk-in urgent care centres would be set up at both RSH and PRH.

The reorganisation is expected to cost in the region of £300 million.