Shropshire moved a big step closer to A&E closure today. Disgracefully, health bosses in Shropshire CCG signed off a document called the ‘Sustainable Services Strategic Outline Case’ – the blueprint for A&E closure.
There were two sides to the meeting.
One side was magnificent. There were around 100 members of the public, packed into a room that wasn’t big enough, sitting on tables and standing at the back when the chairs ran out. We turned out today – despite the short notice – because we care about the future of our NHS. As defenders of the NHS, we spoke passionately about why we need to keep both our A&Es and both our hospitals. A former A&E nurse talked about the need for the hospital trust to value its staff instead of driving them out. A parish councillor from Clunton described the escalating problems in primary care and community care. A Clun resident described the patient safety disaster at the North Middlesex Hospital in London, where a plan that is virtually identical to Future Fit has resulted in chaos. A speaker from Oswestry asked them to admit Future Fit was nothing more than a cost cutting measure.
Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Defend Our NHS 