3 January 2018
The following is a joint statement from Dr Edwin Borman, Medical Director, Deirdre Fowler, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality and Sara Biffen, Interim Chief Operating Officer.
“People will be aware of reports across the national media about the considerable difficulties that the NHS as a whole is experiencing this winter.
“As we have publicised recently, The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) – like many other hospital trusts – is experiencing very high numbers of patients presenting at our two Emergency Departments at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, as well as a high number of admissions, meaning that all of our Ward areas are full.
“Our staff are working incredibly hard under what are very difficult circumstances, but the number of patients we are seeing means that there are long delays in seeing patients in our Emergency Departments, and in helping patients on our Wards.
“There has been a national recommendation that elective surgery and Outpatient clinics should be cancelled until the end of this month. At SaTH, we intend to review, on a week-by-week basis, elective operations and elective clinics. We will, however, ensure that patients requiring urgent assessment and treatment continue to be seen as a priority, as will patients requiring assessment and treatment for cancer and other potentially life-changing conditions.
“These decisions will be made in consultation with clinicians, including our doctors and nurses.
“Anyone who has their elective procedure cancelled will be contacted by the Trust.
“We would like to apologise for these exceptional measures but, given the considerable pressures our two hospitals are facing, we have to ensure that we prioritise the care of urgent and emergency patients.”