Letter: Expert body critical of closing A&E unit
There's an expert body representing A&E consultants, and maintaining high standards of work across A&E departments across the UK. It's called the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
The RCEM is very clear that closing A&Es in rural areas is the wrong thing to do, because any benefits of specialist care are outweighed by longer journey times.
The RCEM also argues that staffing problems are a poor justification for closing A&E units. The vice president of the RCEM, Dr Chris Moulton, has gone out of his way to criticise local A&E closure plans.
It's a shame that Dr Kumaran and Dr Marsh are arguing for a short-sighted cuts and closures approach (Star, May 21).
The way to build good services and to retain staff is through investment and through working with other hospitals to ensure services are sustainable. Patients need both A&Es – so our hospital trust has to find a way of keeping them open.
Future Fit is intended to cut costs by £25 to £27 million a year, with a large part of this to be achieved by getting rid of around 500 health workers. This is in the context of a wider plan to cut £100 million from healthcare in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Are these things consistent with safer and better patient care? Of course not. Future Fit offers us a bleak future. It really is time to look at alternatives.
Gill George, Chair, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Defend Our NHS
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