Wellington 4 November 2018

Protest march against proposed closure of Telford A & E Department

On Sunday, 4 November, members of Shrewsbury and Atcham CLP joined demonstrators from Telford and Wrekin, Wolverhampton and Powys, to protest against the closure of the Telford A & E Department.  The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) is proposing to close the Princess Royal’s emergency department overnight, with effect from 5 December, ostensibly because of staffing issues and supposedly to ensure patient safety.

Protestors, reported to number about 3000, marched from Wellington town centre to Charlton School, where they gathered to hear speakers decry the proposal, ridicule the supposed reasons and argue powerfully for the need to maintain NHS services throughout the SaTH area, the West Midlands and the whole of the country.  Despite Tory claims to the contrary, the evidence points strongly to what we all know to be the case: the Tories are attacking the NHS locally and nationally, health service administrators kow-tow to the pressure and the service is almost unable to meet the needs of the population.  It was noticeable that when protestors called repeatedly, ‘Where are our MPs?!’ there were no replies!

There were excellent speeches from a number of people, including Gill George and Julia Farrington of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Defend Our NHS, Roger Lawrence, the Leader of Wolverhampton Council, Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary of Unison, and Shaun Davies, Leader of Telford and Wrekin Council.  Protestors were asked to sign a petition, which can be found on bit.ly/prhtelford  .