Council leader urges government to reconsider hospital plans which threaten to widen health inequalities
Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Shaun Davies, has again written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, urging him to review Future Fit plans because they threaten to widen the gap between those in good and poor health.
The letter follows correspondence earlier in the year which set out concerns from the council’s legal advisors that the case for downgrading emergency care at the Princess Royal Hospital uses population data that is eight years out of date and that health inequalities in Telford & Wrekin have not been properly considered.
Health inequalities in Telford & Wrekin are much greater than in Shropshire and reducing these inequalities is priority for the NHS and for the council.
If you are a woman living in the borough, on average, you can expect to live to 81.9 years old. That’s almost two years less than a woman in Shropshire. What’s more, you can expect 21.6 of those years to be spent in poor health - five more than a woman in Shropshire.
If you are a man in Telford & Wrekin, you can expect to live to 78.2 years old. That’s two years less than a man in Shropshire. 20.6 of those years are expected to be in poor health - just over three more years than men in Shropshire.
In addition to this, 18.7% of households in Telford and Wrekin do not have access to a car or van (compared to 13.8% in Shropshire). This means that almost 1 in 5 people will face unmanageable journeys on public transport should they need to reach the Royal Shrewsbury hospital without an ambulance.
To make a return journey to the Royal Shrewsbury, residents from Newport would need to catch six buses, make 144 stops and spend £7.50 on a journey that would take them over four hours.
It is a similar picture from Woodside, with people needing to catch six buses, make 92 stops and a journey of over three hours.
There are no bus services to return residents to the borough after 8:00pm, when visiting time closes at the Royal Shrewsbury.
Councillor Davies (Labour) said: “If you’re an elderly resident visiting a loved one at the Royal Shrewsbury, or a new dad making the journey to visit your partner after a complicated birth, these marathon bus journeys are unmanageable.
“If you’re ill, they’re impossible.
“Both myself, and the council’s legal advisors wrote to the Secretary of State in March to urge him to look at the most recent population data which shows that Telford & Wrekin has greater health inequalities than Shropshire and an aging population which is growing faster.
“Making it more difficult for people to access the emergency care they need, and to support their loved ones when they are seriously ill, only stands to widen the gap between those in good and poor health.
“To Steve Barclay MP, I say – stop ignoring the facts and our residents. Give the issue your urgent attention and reconsider the government’s decision to allow Future Fit plans to go ahead.”
In 2018 when people were consulted on Future Fit plans, two in three people disagreed with moving emergency care to Shrewsbury.
In January 2023, 22,000 people across Telford & Wrekin signed a letter to urge the heath secretary to reconsider them.
In response, Will Quince MP, Minister of State for Health, stated that the decision made in 2019 by Matt Hancock - the then Health Secretary - has not changed and that plans will continue to be developed.
