11 August 2017

Senior clinicians and hospital leaders have again met with healthcare partners and patient representatives as discussions over the best way of keeping patients safe in the event of fragile services becoming unsustainable continue.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital (PRH), is examining what short-term measures could be taken ahead of a decision by NHS Future Fit, which will define the future of healthcare for generations to come.

Doctors, Nurses and other health professionals in emergency care, critical care and acute medicine, as well as other specialties, are clear about how fragile some of our services are, and it is therefore vital that contingencies are put in place should the continued safe, effective and dignified running of these services become unsustainable because there are not enough staff to provide a safe service 24-hours a day in two A&E departments.

In March SaTH’s Trust Board was told that all options had been explored and the only viable option, should a “tipping point”, where safe services could no longer be maintained, be reached, was the temporary suspension of A&E services at PRH overnight.

Since then, Trust leaders – including Doctors, Nurses and support staff – have been meeting with healthcare partners and patient representatives to look into the detail of these proposals.

There is currently no plan to suspend A&E services at PRH overnight and, should a tipping point be reached, no action would be taken for at least three months, while contingency measures were put in place.

The latest stakeholder meeting took place today (Friday 11 August 2017), and focussed on how best to overcome challenge in a number of key services such as Stroke, Women and Children’s, Head and Neck and Cardiology, should it become necessary to suspend A&E services at PRH overnight.

Debbie Kadum, Chief Operating Officer at SaTH, said: “We have been clear from the outset that this is about the safety of our patients. The fragility of our A&E Departments at PRH and RSH is well known and it is incumbent on us to plan before we reach a crisis point.

“Although we are looking into how we plan for an overnight suspension of A&E services at PRH, this is not something we are looking to implement. At the same time we are looking at a range of options to avoid us reaching a tipping point. However, if we are unable to recruit or ensure stability for our A&E Departments we will unfortunately be in a position of recommending the need to take action to safeguard our patients.

“Before any decision can be made the final service model would need to be approved and it would take a minimum of three months to enact the plan. Any suggestion that a plan could be implemented in the coming weeks is wholly misleading.”