The former Mayor of Wem, Pauline Dee BEM, who served as a Wem councillor for nearly 40 years, has told her story of a 25-hour wait at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital A&E.
Pauline Dee, former councillor for Wem, said:
“I was taken into Accident and Emergency at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital twice last week. The first time wasn’t so bad, but my second trip took 25 hours from phoning 999.
“After a long wait, I arrived at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital at 1.30pm on Tuesday but didn’t have a bed until 4.45am on Wednesday morning. Another gentleman who arrived around the same time spent Tuesday morning through to evening in an ambulance outside.
“I am appalled at the conditions and strain that the staff are under – they never stop working. Despite this, the lack of facilities and accommodation mean that people in Shropshire are not getting the care they need.
“When I first came to Wem, the situation wasn’t perfect, but a ‘bad wait’ was three or four hours. Now we are in a situation where people are having experiences like mine every week, which is simply not acceptable.
“It is clear to me that Shropshire’s emergency care is a crisis and needs a response from the Government reflective of that.”
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has written to the Chief Executive of the Shropshire NHS ICB after hearing Pauline’s story and from many other constituents over the state of emergency care in the county.
Helen has asked for an urgent update on a promised emergency package to protect Shropshire’s emergency services over the winter.
Helen said: “Shropshire’s emergency care services face a crisis over the winter, and experiences like Pauline’s are all too common. It is simply not good enough, and extra support for our Hospitals cannot come soon enough.
“This is nothing short of a crisis and we need immediate action as well as long-term planning. I have written to the Chief Executive of our local health service to ask for an update on our promised 52 extra beds as part of the much-needed emergency package for Shropshire as we head into a really difficult winter.”