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Campaigners deny intimidating Shropshire NHS pop-up event staff

Google Park Lane Centre, WoodsideGoogle
Members of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Defend Our NHS denied they disrupted the pop-up event at the Park Lane Centre in Woodside

Two pop-up events about hospital services in Shropshire were cancelled after staff were intimidated by campaigners, NHS officials say.

Staff at the consultation event said they were disrupted at an event in Telford by a few members of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Defend Our NHS.

But the group denied intimidation, saying they were shouted at by staff.

The events were to explain how services at the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal hospitals could be altered.

The event in Woodside was called off on Tuesday along with another planned event in Stirchley, over concerns for the safety of staff, a spokesman for the NHS Future Fit Programme said.

Future Fit could see the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford having its A&E unit downgraded, losing its specialist women and children's departments to Shrewsbury and becoming a base for planned care instead.

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In a statement, Gill George from the campaign group, said they had become concerned that times and locations of the pop-up events were being changed without notifying the public.

While campaigners were leafleting in the Park Lane Centre in Woodside on Tuesday, where the pop-up event was, they asked NHS staff why that was happening and suggested it was misleading the public. Staff reacted angrily, she said.

SATH Artist's impression of the planned Emergency Centre in ShrewsburySATH
Under the plans, A&E in Shrewsbury would be replaced by an upgraded "Emergency Centre", while Telford's would be downgraded to an "Urgent Care Centre"

Stating the group was opposed to intimidation, she said they left "amicably as soon as the centre manager asked them to".

A spokeswoman for the Future Fit Programme apologised for an admin error on its website which led to two events being advertised the wrong way round.

There are eight full public consultation events planned up until 4 September, with one due at Meeting Point House in Telford later and another in Shrewsbury on Thursday.