Future Fit: Shrewsbury MP backs hospital chief over reorganisation plans
An MP has thrown his weight behind the chief executive of the county’s major hospitals over re-organisation plans.
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, was speaking after his party colleagues Lucy Allan and Mark Pritchard met Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to voice their concerns about the length of time it is taking to reach a decision over the Future Fit proposals.
Mr Hunt is reported to have said he will tell NHS England ‘enough is enough’ and that a swift decision regarding the future of Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, needs to be taken.
In the wake of the comments Mr Kawczynski said that he had full confidence that the hospitals’ chief executive Simon Wright was doing all he could to move the project forward.
He said if any blame should be found for the delay, it should be laid at the door of Telford & Wrekin Council, adding: “If there is going to be a blame culture here we need to look at Telford Council. There has been a single body that has thrown a spoke in the wheel and tried to derail this process. And that has been Telford & Wrekin Council. It seems to operate in a silo of its own.
“Medical professionals have been looking for a way to future-proof provision across the county and Mid Wales.
“I have full confidence in the chief executive of the trust. He is, in my view, the best we have had in the 12 years I have been an MP. He is very well respected and is working hard to ensure that the money is there for this process. He would not be proceeding with this unless he had confidence that the money would be awarded to the project.”
NHS England said earlier this week that it was reviewing the Future Fit proposals backed by the county’s two clinical commissioning groups.
If NHS England validates the Future Fit plan then public consultation should begin in December.
