A Shropshire Councillor has called on the Shropshire Hospital Trust to give a definitive statement about the future of the Shrewsbury maternity unit following a tip off from within the service that its future may be at risk.
Heather Kidd said “Maternity services at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital have been threatened several times over the years. The Trust for the Royal Shrewsbury and the Princess Royal Hospitals now have a new Chief Executive who appears to have reopened the debate about cost savings and where services are delivered.”
“These hospitals are very much part of the community and employ large numbers of people. Rumours start quickly and grow. Large swathes of south and west Shropshire use the Maternity consultant services at the RSH and it takes them around 30 to 50 minutes to get there. Mid Wales also uses the Royal Shrewsbury and for them the travel time can be well over an hour.”
“I had 2 of my daughters at the RSH and it takes around 30mins from Chirbury to get there. If I had had to travel an extra 15-20mins to Telford one of my daughters would probably have been born in the car! And there were complications.” Added Cllr Heather Kidd.
“This is not scare mongering. Several babies in the Chirbury area have been born on route or have had to be delivered at home. Indeed, recently, twins from just over the border in Montgomeryshire (mother from Chirbury) were delivered in the car by their father as they failed to get there in time.” Heather added.
Wyn Williams, Lib Dem Assembly Candidate for Montgomeryshire, added, “I am working closely with Heather to try to sort this out. People must have their minds put at rest about this rumour. Heather and I are calling on the new Chief Executive, Adam Cairns, to dispel local fears as this would cause severe hardship to many mums-to-be in Mid Wales and South West Shropshire. Shrewsbury must keep its maternity unit.”