Providing the best healthcare for Shropshire residents

‘We must seek the best solution to provide our residents with the best and safest healthcare system”.

This is the key message following the special Cabinet to determine Shropshire Council’s response to the ‘Keeping it in the County’ consultation, held on Wednesday 9 March 2011.

The special Cabinet meeting looked at the proposed responses to ensure that future healthcare meets the needs of residents in a more efficient, coherent and cost-effective way without compromising the health of individuals.  The council’s response will also take into consideration that any changes are responsive to Shropshire’s rural communities.

Cabinet strongly agreed that health services should be kept in the county, and although councillors broadly supported the changes being proposed to services at both hospital sites as a short term solution, unanimously agreed that the best long-term solution would be the development of a new hospital.  Cabinet agreed that this option could be actively explored through Shropshire’s new Health and Well-being Board, and that it should be looked at in conjunction with locally-based health provision.

Councillor Keith Barrow, Leader of Shropshire Council, said:

“I would like to thank everyone who attended this meeting.  We have listened carefully to the views and opinions expressed at the meeting and will now consider these in our response.  It is essential that we secure the best possible health services for Shropshire. This is why we had requested this special Cabinet meeting to consider our response to the hospital consultation ‘Keeping it in the County’.  Cabinet unanimously recognise that changes need to be made; however, these changes should not be at the cost of the health and safety of our residents, and if we don’t set our sights on the best solution, then we are selling people short and we aren’t prepared to do that.”