Temporary closure of the children’s eye-care service

A joint statement from the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group:

“Due to staffing issues, the very difficult decision has been taken to temporarily close the Paediatric Ophthalmology service at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to new patients until further notice.

“The Paediatric Ophthalmology Service cares for children with eye and visual problems.

“Patients already being treated by the service will continue to have their follow-up care provided by SaTH and GPs and Optometrists will continue to make referrals for children who need eye-care, with parents and carers given a choice of the alternative providers available.

“For people currently on the SaTH waiting list, the Trust will continually review and assess each individual to ensure there are plans in place to manage their care.

“We want to reassure you that we are working closely together to find a solution for providing this service for our local population in the long-term, which includes ongoing efforts to recruit staff to enable the service to resume as quickly as possible.

“This is not a decision that has been taken lightly. Our priority continues to be the safety of our patients and ensuring that people can continue to access the right care when needed.”