Two Market Drayton residents have claimed controversial plans to transfer services from the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital could result in lives being lost.
Earlier this month it was announced that The Princess Royal Hospital is set to lose its acute clinical services, most of its accident and emergency department and be downgraded as part of a dramatic countywide health shake-up.
However Market Drayton residents Maria Wright and Nikki Pascall believe people must act now before it is too late.
Maria said: “If this policy was to go through it would mean people in Market Drayton will have to travel to Shrewsbury which, as the PCT state, is a longer journey. If you get into an emergency they will either take you to Telford with their skeleton staff or to Shrewsbury who will be so busy you are unlikely to get a bed.”
Under the new policy a new hospital or an extension to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be complete by 2020.
Maria said: “That is a very long time away. Anything could happen in between now and then and what about the people who will need treatment in the mean time.
“Market Drayton always seems to be left behind. People never complain: Oswestry, Whitchurch and Bridgnorth all have better facilities – we need to stand up to this.
Nikki Pascall said she was worried how the changes would affect response times following a recent incident with her son.
Nikki said: “A short while ago my son fell over in the playground and knocked himself unconscious.
“He attends a village school and the ambulance took 40 minutes to reach him.
“Had this been a serious injury it may well have been too late and if the response times are already frighteningly slow it is very frightening to think how long the wait would have been had the ambulance had to travel further.
“Happily my son was fine but I am deeply concerned about the effect losing the A&E services and paediatric services will have on the PRH.
“This feels like the start of a slippery slope and we must stop these changes before lives are lost.”
But Shropshire County PCT, NHS Telford & Wrekin and The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said: “We have reviewed all of the options for 2012/13 and 2020 and carried out non-financial and financial appraisals and the results of this will be considered at a future board meeting.
“No decisions have been taken. The key concern is to ensure clinically safe services are provided.”
By Joseph Masi