LABOUR’s shadow health secretary has spoken out about the concerns about the future of health services in Ludlow and south Shropshire.

The comments have been welcomed by the Ludlow based ‘Defend our NHS group.’

Andy Burham has come out against the option of closing the Accident and Emergency Unit at Shrewsbury.

The shadow cabinet minister said that because of the geography of Shropshire it would leave people having to travel huge distances to get treatment for potentially life threatening conditions.

“It’s absolutely brilliant to have Andy Burnham’s support for what we’re saying,” said Gill George of Shropshire Defend our NHS.

“We need to hear now from our local MPs and councillors. It’s time to come off the fence.

“Andy Burnham’s right to pick up on the long journeys people face. This is a huge geographical area, with a population of over 500,000 across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Powys. We’ve got an ambulance service that routinely leaves 999 patients waiting over an hour for the ambulance to arrive.

“We need both our Accident and Emergency units and more investment in our ambulance services, so people in rural areas aren’t dying unnecessarily.”

Shropshire Defend Our NHS campaign claims to base its case on the research evidence that shows that Accident and Emergency closure leads to higher death rates and that longer ambulance journeys lead to higher death rates.

The future of Accident and Emergency is one of the issues being considered in a major review of health services in Shropshire.

A cloud also hangs over the future of minor injuries units such as the facility in Ludlow with fears that it will close down.

There are wider concerns about the future of Ludlow Hospital where a third of the beds have been removed following a refurbishment.

Campaigners fear that with fewer beds the hospital may not be viable. Ludlow Community Hospital was retained following the loss of the planned £27 million hospital and health village that was scrapped as a result of changes to the NHS.