Brave Zac's dad calls for Telford A&E support
Brave Broseley four-year-old Zac Oliver's father Mark Garbett has called for communities around Telford to band together in an effort to save the Princess Royal Hospital's A&E.
Mr Garbett said the support his family had received from Telford's hospital have been amazing – and that any attempts to shut the A&E were "criminal".
Zac, who has a rare form of leukaemia, has been unable to get the treatment he needs on the NHS, but thousands of people across Shropshire and beyond have come together to fund his £500,000 trip to America.
He will be able to travel to Philadelphia after receiving the visa needed for his journey.
Mr Garbett said: "The experiences we've had at Princess Royal Hospital have been excellent. The services there have been great, the doctors have been great and the facilities have been absolutely amazing.
"It's criminal to take such an excellent service away from the people around the Telford area, and for everyone that relies on that service it will have an adverse impact. on local communities.
"People need to come together now. We've just seen what everybody has done for Zac and how they've backed this cause. The people in the surrounding areas need now to pull together to help save this facility. It needs to be a community effort, not only from people in Telford, but people in communities around Shropshire that are far away from Shrewsbury like Albrighton, Bridgnorth and Shifnal.
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"We all need to realise the impact that it's going to create and save the facility that's there.
"It's really important for not only children, but men, women and elderly people – to send them off to hospitals such as Stoke, Wolverhampton or Shrewsbury, those extra minutes are vital for saving someone's life.
"Such a short space of time could be critical. It's massively important that we keep that facility at Princess Royal Hospital."
Councillor Shaun Davies, of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "Thank you to Mark for illustrating why people outside Telford & Wrekin should be concerned about the planned overnight closure of the A&E in Telford.
"It's not just an issue for Telford, but for all the communities around Telford."
