A FORMER mayor of Wem and Shropshire councillor has described the ‘appalling’ wait to be treated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Pauline Dee BEM, who served Wem for four decades as a councillor on a number of town, district and county councils, said she was admitted to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department on two occasions last week.

And she said it was the second trip that left her convinced of the need for the Government to respond to solve what she calls a ‘crisis of emergency care’ in the county.

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She said: “I was taken into A&E at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital twice last week.

“The first time wasn’t so bad, but my second trip took 25 hours from phoning 999.

“After a long wait, I arrived at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital at 1.30pm on Tuesday but didn’t have a bed until 4.45am on Wednesday morning.

“Another gentleman in around the same time spent Tuesday morning through to evening in an ambulance outside.

“I am appalled at the conditions and strain that the staff are under – they never stop working.

“Despite this, the lack of facilities and accommodation mean that people in Shropshire are not getting the care they need.

“When I first came to Wem, the situation wasn’t perfect, but a ‘bad wait’ was three or four hours.

“Now we are in a situation where people are having experiences like mine every week, which is simply not acceptable.

“It is clear to me that Shropshire’s emergency care is a crisis and needs a response from the Government reflective of that.”

Pauline is being backed by the MP for North Shropshire and a fellow Wem resident Helen Morgan, who has written to the head of the local health service after hearing stories from many other constituents over the state of emergency care in the county.

She said: “Shropshire’s emergency care services face a crisis over the winter, and experiences like Pauline’s are all too common.

“It is simply not good enough, and extra support for our Hospitals cannot come soon enough.

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 “This is nothing short of a crisis and we need immediate action as well as long-term planning.

“I have written to the chief executive of our local health service to ask for an update on our promised 52 extra beds as part of the much-needed emergency package for Shropshire as we head into a really difficult winter.”

Shrewsbury and Telford Health Trust (SaTH), which operates the hospital, has been approached for comment.