Letter: Shrewsbury should not be site of A&E
So the decision has been made that one of the A&E departments in Shropshire will be closed. It appears that people in Shrewsbury think that the remaining unit should be located there as it is the central location.
I cannot see how a hospital on the western edge of Shropshire can be called a central location for Shropshire, unless you take Mid Wales into the equation. I would remind you of the letter in the Shropshire Star from Councillor Karen Calder in which she advises: "The Department of Health in England prevents English authorities from re-charging Welsh authorities. This is to the detriment of Shropshire residents."
It annoys me therefore that we should be considering locating our only A&E near the Welsh border and much further away from the rapidly expanding population on the eastern edge of Shropshire. Market Drayton, Newport, Shifnal and Albrighton all have thousands of houses being built. Our current A&E is about 12 miles or 30 minutes away. RSH is 25 miles away and on the far side of Shrewsbury making for a journey of an hour or more, especially as there is no direct main road from Newport.
I have no objection to a reciprocal agreement with the Welsh health service but I object to patients with their own health authority and budgets being considered for preferential treatment over our own residents, especially when it is at a cost to these residents.
Graham Burns, Newport
