Shropshire hospitals given £1.1m for reconfiguration plan
SATHThe government has given £1.1m to aid developing a plan for reconfiguring Shropshire's hospitals.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is planning to move the county's main emergency care centre to Shrewsbury.
Health bosses said they hoped a business case would be presented to the government in the summer.
Health minister Edward Argar said the latest funds will help the trust to continue developing the plan.
In 2019, approval was given for a proposal for Shrewsbury to house the county's main emergency care centre which included downgrading Telford's Princess Royal Hospital's A&E unit, and moving maternity and other women's services back to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
But work on the scheme was paused in February 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government had agreed to pay £312m towards the proposal but costs of the original plan were understood to have reached £500m, prompting NHS England to ask bosses to go back to the drawing board and revise spending.
During the NHS Capital Spend and Health Inequalities debate on Tuesday, responding to questions from Telford's MP Lucy Allan, Mr Argar said NHS England and NHS Improvement were continuing to work with the trust to develop the business case for the scheme.
"We want them to work to come up with the right solution for the local community, and we remain committed to that," he said.
He said the £312m remains the "maximum amount currently allocated to that programme" adding he encouraged the trust " to continue working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a scheme and a programme that matches that budget for the benefit of everyone's constituents in Shropshire and in Wales, who this hospital also serves".
Once submitted to government, the plan will follow a business case approvals process.
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