Following a meeting yesterday with SaTH leaders where a number of actions were agreed, Lucy Allan MP has today written to Health Education England and NHS Improvement to seek help with sourcing middle grade doctors in a bid to keep PRH A&E open.
Telford’s MP has also written to Telford & Wrekin Council to ask them to reinstate the Community Infrastructure Levy and deliver a one-off capital injection to provide increased diagnostic capacity at PRH. The Levy is a tool for local authorities in England and Wales to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of the area. With a significant number of new houses being built in Telford, Ms Allan has asked the Council to consider the knock-on effect this has on health provision in the area.
The MP has also called for the Council to provide the same level of support to SaTH as Shropshire Council for discharges of reablement beds in nursing homes or timely packages of care to ease the pressure at the Emergency Department at PRH.
Lucy Allan said:
‘Together with a team of local councillors and the Trust, we are working hard to stop this closure. We are trying to find an immediate solution to the doctor shortage.
‘Drafting in doctors is the only viable short term solution. That is why I have written to Health Education England to persuade them to allocate the Trust two middle grade doctors and I have asked NHS Improvement to encourage other nearby Trusts such as Royal Wolverhampton Hospital, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals, Walsall Healthcare Trust and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Foundation Trust to each provide one of their middle grade doctors to SaTH. I have asked the Secretary of State for Health to support this request. This is a National Health Service so why shouldn’t Trusts work collaboratively. This is an unusual step, however, it is clearly the way forward.
‘Although I will be focusing on securing more doctors for the Trust, there are other steps we as a community can take to help the Hospital in the longer term and the Council has an important role to play.’