Telford MP Pledges Continued Fight for A&E Services

Shaun Davies, the Labour MP for Telford, has committed to organizing a cross-party meeting early next year. The purpose of this gathering will be to address the future of the National Health Service across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Mr. Davies expressed apprehension regarding the safety of hospitals in the county and affirmed his ongoing efforts to advocate for the reinstatement of emergency care services at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital (PRH). “Every league table that you look at, every kind of stat that you look at, the PRH and our NHS more generally in Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire, is performing very, very badly,” he stated. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust acknowledged that an excessive number of patients were experiencing extended waiting times for treatment and indicated that it was diligently working towards implementing enhancements. Construction is currently in progress, which will lead to the provision of specialized emergency care at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, alongside modifications to care strategies at the PRH. This £312 million transformation initiative, referred to as Future Fit, was initially put forward in 2013. In September, Mr. Davies utilized one of his initial addresses in the House of Commons to urge his own government to overturn the resolution concerning the closure of Telford’s A&E department. Nevertheless, Health Minister Karin Smyth indicated that reversing the contracts, which were sanctioned by the Conservative government for an Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) intended to supersede the A&E, would incur costs amounting to millions of pounds. Despite this, the former leader of Telford and Wrekin Council has unequivocally articulated his position. “What I very clearly said at the time was I will never stop fighting,” he stated. “Those are the services that my family, my town and myself rely on. I’ll never stop fighting.” The planned meeting is set to include all Members of Parliament from Shropshire, irrespective of their political affiliation. “I’m really concerned about clinical safety at the hospital,” Davies commented. “They’ve got a new chief executive, another one… a new chair of the board of directors, another one. “This is a hospital trust that is in crisis, and we need to fix it.” Mr. Davies indicated his intention to collaborate with the government to reinstate children’s and women’s services, along with emergency care, in Telford, and to enhance the services offered at the Urgent Treatment Centre. “I’ve done more on that hospital, which is not in my constituency – it’s in the Wrekin constituency – than my predecessors ever did,” he remarked. “I will continue to bring services back to the PRH and importantly, make sure that the NHS here is something we can be proud of.” Ned Hobbs, the chief operating officer at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, stated that efforts were underway to “accelerate improvements.” “[This involves] our most challenged services, which continue to face significant pressures,” he clarified. “Following additional investment in recent weeks, we are reducing waiting times for cancer care and seeing improvements in some parts of our urgent and emergency care services.” Mr. Hobbs further mentioned that the trust’s hospital transformation program, guided by clinicians, is designed to tackle urgent issues and decrease waiting periods.