Local Conservative Councillors to meet with Health Secretary
Telford and Wrekin Conservative Councillors are to meet the Secretary of State for Health, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP, next week at Westminster to put the case for retaining 24 hour Emergency and Urgent Care Services at the Princess Royal Hospital.
The meeting arranged by Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard will take place next Tuesday (January 10th) and include Telford MP Lucy Allan, and the leaders of both Telford and Wrekin Council and Shropshire Council.
Conservative Group Leader Andrew Eade said “' We are very grateful to Mark Pritchard for arranging this opportunity to tell Jeremy Hunt directly of the ‘Future Fit fiasco’ which has taken several years to report and wasted £3m of local health care cash in the process.”
“It is very clear to us that the Women and Children’s Unit, which was provided due to clinical need at a cost of £28m a few years ago, must stay where it is at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital, and 24/7 accident and emergency provision must remain at both the Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals in the county.”
“However, in order to provide a first class and safe emergency care service for the county, a new unit must be provided and built at Telford Princess Royal Hospital as it cannot be separated from the Women and Children’s Unit, and will prove the cheaper option”
Conservative Group Deputy Leader Nigel Dugmore Added “This is a matter for NHS England to determine and arguments skewed and unbalanced by health provision in Wales should not be taken into consideration.”
“We deserve the very best health services in both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, and will be calling on Jeremy Hunt to ensure that our money is not wasted any further, and that a sensible, fair, and independent decision is made on our county’s health services.”