LUDLOW town councillors are sceptical about a consultation about future health care in south Shropshire.

Paul Tulley, from the NHS, told a town council meeting that the ‘Future Fit’ consultation is a genuine bid to find out what people want and that no decisions have been made.

He said it was not correct to believe that a future ‘urgent care centre’ would either be in Ludlow or Bridgnorth.

Mr Tulley said that there are five options on the table for an emergency care centre in the county now known as accident and emergency.

These were in Shrewsbury or Telford or on one of three new sites between the two towns.

He said that under the options being considered there would also be a ‘planned care centre’ that would undertake scheduled operations and non-emergency procedures but no decision had been made about whether the emergency care and planned care centres would be on the same or different sites.

But Councillor Rose Jones said that whether these facilities were in Shrewsbury or Telford it was still a long way for people living in Ludlow and extremely difficult for people who did not have a car.

Vivienne Parry, who sits on both the town council and Shropshire Council representing Ludlow North, told the meeting that she had recently had an experience that involved visits to hospitals in Shrewsbury, Telford and Birmingham.

She said that without friends to help with transport this would have been very difficult.

Councillor Tim Gill said that he was very sceptical about the reality of the ‘Future Fit’ consultation.

“I have no confidence with the outcome of the consultation which I believe will be a cosmetic exercise and I believe that the decision has been made,” he said.

Councillor Graeme Perks said he still feared that a choice would be made about having the urgent care centre in Ludlow or Bridgnorth.

“I hope this is not the case because the perception is that Bridgnorth is better placed than Ludlow that is at a disadvantage,” he said.