Assembly Member Mick Bates has raised concern over proposals to relocate maternity services from Shrewsbury and has called on the Welsh Government to support cross border collaboration over the future of health services for patients in Montgomeryshire, as The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust consults on the future of hospital services in Shropshire.
Consultation has commenced on the way some services are arranged between the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital at Telford. The ‘Keeping it in the County’ consultation aims to protect specialist treatments following concern over the removal of some services from the County’s two acute hospitals over the past few years.
Commenting, Mr Bates said:
“I am deeply concerned about proposals to reconfigure hospital services between the Royal Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals. Some change is needed to ensure that services are provided in the best way possible, but we need urgent dialogue between Wrexham, Bronglais, Shrewsbury and Telford Trusts about the future provision of services to patients from Montgomeryshire. If proposals are considered in isolation then there is a real worry that the people of Mid Wales will be disadvantaged by the changes.
“In Montgomeryshire patients can benefit from specialist services in Wrexham, Bronglais or across the border in Shropshire. Access to the best treatment available is crucial, but services must be kept as local as possible, so that patients from Montgomeryshire are not forced to travel increasingly unacceptable distances to access treatment.
“Currently women from Montgomeryshire who are considered as ‘high risk’ are often delivered in Shrewsbury. Shifting the maternity unit from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to Telford would add an extra twenty minutes onto a journey which is already fifty minutes at best which is too far for expectant mothers to travel.
“A new Women and Children’s centre at Shrewsbury would be a welcome development, rather than moving maternity care to Telford, especially as the current maternity unit in Shrewsbury is showing its age.
“I have discussed the proposals with the Chief Executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust and will be submitting a formal response to the consultation to reflect concerns that are being raised by constituents. I fully support the campaign by Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Candidate Wyn Williams to keep a maternity unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and I urge people to sign up to the petition at http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/SaveOurMaternity.”
