The decision to build a a new Accident and Emergency centre the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has been welcomed by patients and health campaigners in Newtown and throughout north Powys.
Following a long and drawn out consultation, health chiefs in Shropshire have agreed to locate the A&E at Shrewsbury and not Telford.
It had been feared having the centre in Telford could add vital time to patients being transported from Newtown and Montgomeryshire for vital treatment in the 'golden hour.'
Last night at a public meeting by the Joint Committee of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) the NHS Future Fit programme was agreed.
The Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin CCGs consulted the public on two options which were designed to improve the hospital services provided at both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to meet the needs of communities across the areas which they serve.
This follows an injection of capital funding from the UK Government of £312 million to invest in acute health services in the area to bring about this much-needed reform.
NHS "Future Fit" asked the public whether they preferred for the Royal Shrewsbury to become an Emergency Care centre and the Princess Royal Hospital a planned care centre (the CCGs' preferred option) or vice-versa.
Newtown health campaigner, Cllr Joy Jones, said: This is tremendous news at last Future Fit Option 1 was chosen as the way forward for the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Powys health boards, this will bring many of the essential services to the centre of the whole areas at the Health Board serves."
"Shrewsbury is the ideal place to have the emergency department and Critical care unit; it’s close to the border which is important for the people of Powys but also easy access for people in Shropshire. In an ideal world we would all like to see an A&E In both Shrewsbury and Telford but with strain on the NHS and staffing issues this has become impractical."
Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George, said: “This is good news for Mid Wales. I am pleased that the Emergency Care Centre will be located in Shrewsbury, which is centrally located, to serve the life-saving emergency healthcare needs of the wider region and those of us here in Montgomeryshire.
“This long-awaited decision comes after many years of deliberation by the NHS "Future Fit" programme board which considered the outcome and feedback from a public consultation, impact assessments on the different options and the findings of an independent review.??“I’d like to thank the people of Mid Wales who engaged in the public consultation and completed my own survey in relation to this consultation. I received over 600 responses from residents in Montgomeryshire.
"The overwhelming conclusion was that 95% of respondents preferred an emergency care centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital rather than the Princess Royal in Telford but there were also concerns that under both options, the proposed model of care would result in residents having to travel further for some of their care.
?“As a result, I believe that it is essential that some planned care is delivered locally in our local community hospitals in Llanidloes, Newtown, Welshpool and Machynlleth, to prevent the need to travel out of county to see a consultant.
“NHS services should be delivered as close as possible to home and I have previously called on the Welsh Government to allocate additional funding to Powys Teaching Health Board for minor injury units and develop a Community Hospital Development Fund to encourage the innovative use of community hospitals across rural Wales."
He added: "This decision is a milestone which marks the point where the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust has begun to confront its challenges and makes the necessary reforms which will allow it to attract top class consultants and clinicians.
"I am hugely encouraged by this decision, which I hope will allow building works to commence on the Shrewsbury site for a new Emergency Centre next year.
It was a tumultuous meeting at Harper Adams University, Newport, where some of the 200 people present shouted abuse at the panel.
Telford and Wrekin Council has now called for the government to intervene.
The decision means Telford's Princess Royal Hospital will become the home of planned care, with Royal Shrewsbury Hospital also housing most women and children's services.
The joint meeting of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups was told the option would mean fewer people have to travel further and it provided best value for money.
The programme to overhaul services at the county's two main hospitals, which are also used by many patients from Mid Wales, began in 2013.
NHS bosses said it was needed to make sure services were sustainable for the future. Residents and the council have been fighting the idea of downgrading its A&E and raised concerns about services moving from the £28m purpose-built women and children's centre, which opened in 2014.
Work will now begin on a final business case, with all changes to be made by the start of 2025.
