Shrewsbury and Telford hospital plan petition started

Up to 20,000 people have signed a petition against plans to reorganise hospital services in Shropshire.

Under the NHS Trust's plans, children's and maternity services would move from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

The move would improve patient care, Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust said.

Shrewsbury hospital serves patients from the town and parts of Wales. Moving its services would make it less accessible for them, protesters said.

Hospital campaigner Martyn Davies-Friend said he was aware the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital needed to be improved to bring it up to modern standards, but he did not think removing services was the best solution.

"We are aware of the failings of the building physically in Shrewsbury but we are working hard to look at alternatives and how they would best serve the needs of Shropshire and Mid-Wales," he said.

The trust said the current situation was not viable because patient care was compromised and it could not afford to run paediatric services on two different sites.

The public consultation about the plans ends on 14 March, when the campaigners will hand their petition in to Shrewsbury and Atcham Conservative MP, Daniel Kawczynski.