THE recently announced £21 million boost for emergency care services in Shropshire will save lives in the county, it has been claimed.

Around 30 NHS organisations are benefitting from this tranche of funding, including NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, which the Department of Health has confirmed will receive an additional £21.4 million – among the largest funding boost of any trust in the country.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has now made a claim about the positive impact of 52 extra beds at Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals.

She said: “After years of campaigning, it is great news to see a serious boost in funding for emergency care in Shropshire.

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“We have had some of the worst A&E waiting times in the country and an ambulance crisis, so this is well overdue.

“Quicker response times and extra beds at Telford and Shrewsbury will save lives so I hope this is the beginning of real action to cut ambulance waiting times.

“We also need to ensure that questions around staffing are answered so that patients can get the care they need.”

She raised the issue with then Prime Minister Boris Johnson on her first day as an MP in 2021, in the House of Commons, and has frequently asked the sitting Secretary of State for Health to visit the county.

The MP also secured an Adjournment Debate in Parliament devoted to ambulance response times and emergency care in Shropshire, and has regularly met with senior health leaders from local hospitals, the Integrated Care Board, GP surgeries and all areas of healthcare in the area.