Shropshire cancer unit fundraisers fight on

Hospital fundraisers who collected more than £500,000 for a children's cancer unit say they are upset it is likely to close under NHS mergers.

The unit was opened in Shrewsbury six years ago but Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust now plans to move children's in-patient services to Telford.

Trust chief executive Adam Cairns said the move was in patients' interests.

Alison Davies-Friend, who helped fundraise as her daughter battled cancer, said she would fight on.

"We fought for our daughter's life, we fought for a unit that that we truly believe in, we obtained that unit and we're not going to let it go," she said.

Mr Cairns said: "I know this is difficult for everybody but we have got to make changes in the best interests of all patients, including the children, and if we can bring together all our experts on one single site, children will fair better."

A health care review report in 2009 said current service levels in areas such as accident and emergency and major surgery could not be maintained at Telford due to rising costs and fewer general surgeons being available as more surgeons chose to specialise.