27.01.11
Hospital merger plans press ahead
Opposition is growing to plans to merge many hospital departments in Shropshire.
The Princess Royal in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury hospitals would retain their A&E units but maternity, obstetrics, neo-natal intensive care and in-patient paediatric services would be moved to Telford.
A midwife-led maternity unit and acute in-patient abdominal and vascular surgery would be based at Shrewsbury.
Campaigners have collected 4,000 signatures against the plans and Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski said his constituents were “really angry and frustrated”, although he said he did understand the need for some changes in the county. Campaigners said ‘downgrading’ women’s and children’s hospital care in Shrewsbury could be a “death sentence” for some.
A dam Cairns, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said there was “no Plan B”, according to the Shropshire Star newspaper.
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