Seven-days-a-week service for sick children guaranteed at new hospital centre

Today the local NHS has agreed that a seven-day Children’s Assessment Unit will be retained at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital after the Shropshire Women’s and Children’s Centre opens at The Princess Royal Hospital in Telford next month (September 2014).

Children Assessment Units are different from A&E services and are primarily used for GP referrals, blood tests, observations and certain investigations.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Caron Morton, Accountable Officer of Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group said:

“The CCG is pleased that children in Shropshire will continue to have access to high-quality care every day of the week at a dedicated unit in Shrewsbury.

“Everyone involved in the discussions was clear that the most important outcome was the best possible services for Shropshire people, and I am glad that we have been able to get to a place that offers this.  We will continue to work with the hospital Trust and our colleagues in the council to make sure that children in the county get the best possible care, when they need it.”

Peter Herring, Chief Executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust commented:

“Children’s services for people in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid-Wales are changing for the better with the new Shropshire Women and Children’s Centre opening at the end of September.

“This is a wonderful new facility that we can all be proud of. This is a wonderful new facility that we can all be proud of.  But, with great new facilities opening in Telford, it is also vitally important that parents right across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and mid-Wales can all be confident about where to take a child when they are suddenly and unexpectedly taken very poorly.

“When the new Centre opens in Telford there will be a Children’s Assessment Unit seven days a week in Shrewsbury where children’s doctors and nurses can offer tests, diagnosis and observation so that only those children who need inpatient care and other specialist services are admitted to the state-of-the-art facilities at the Shropshire Women and Children’s Centre.”

Keith Barrow, Leader of Shropshire Council comments:

“I am pleased that our concerns and those of local parents have been taken on board.

“A seven-day-a-week service is vital to the health of Shropshire’s children, and the confirmation that this will continue is very welcome.  After several meetings between the CCG, SaTH, myself and Daniel Kawczynski MP, we have collectively found a way forward that best serves our patients and residents.  Our purpose is to continue forging strong relationships between leaders across the community for the best outcomes for the people of Shropshire – getting the right service in place for our residents is a passion we all share.

“As I have said previously, we had supported the proposals of the changes to women’s and children’s services throughout the ‘Keep it in the County’ consultation two years ago, but made it very clear that this was based on the fact that the Trust would retain the seven-day Paediatric Service with appropriately qualified staff.  Common sense has prevailed.  It will ensure that the health of children is protected in the county.”

The Children’s Assessment Unit in Shrewsbury will continue to provide specialist children’s care seven days a week when the Shropshire Women and Children’s Centre opens in Telford at the end of September.  It will provide services such as GP referrals, blood tests, observations and certain investigations.  The proposed Accident and Emergency services for children will be open 24/7 for children at both RSH and PRH.  The majority of children who attend A&E are discharged without needing to access specialist paediatric services.  A&E services at RSH are supported 24/7 by on-call consultant paediatricians.