Letter: Consultation on A&E services a waste of much-needed cash

He asked the question "So, what has changed?" in relation to accident and emergency services.

I had sought answers by searching through Trust minutes and agendas. I found nothing to suggest that any principle or policy had been changed nor any record of any formal decision to call for consultation.

Since the announcement about consultation, which inevitably created public alarm, confusion, polarised views, and started petitions, the Trust Board appears to have gone to ground.

The acting chair of the Trust Board, Mr Martin Beardwell, needs to recognise the anger this initiative has caused amongst the people of Powys, Telford and Shropshire and to tell us, publicly, some important facts, such as:

By whom, or by what body, was the decision to call for public consultation specifically on A&E re-configuration taken, and when. If the decision was taken by an individual or persons not on the SATH Board tell us who they are, and did they have the prior approval of the Board?

If the decision was taken at a Board or other meeting, tell us where we can see the relevant minutes of the meeting and who voted for consultation and who didn't?

Why was no mention made of any A&E re-configuration in the SATH newsletter "A Healthier Future"; published in July 2013?

The outcome of this latest exercise, if it takes place, will be that the people of Telford, Shropshire and Powys and countless public bodies and professional organisations, will tell SATH, yet again, that we need full A&E services at both hospitals. How many times do they need telling? If the current executives are telling the Board it's not feasible the Board needs to replace them with executives who will face up to problems and solve them, not run away.

This ludicrous consultation will to cost a lot of money, and almost certainly some of it will be spent on fat fees for consultants. It's our money Mr Beardwell, stop wasting it and spend it on health care.

Bob Groom, Trench