Minutes with the MP

By Helen Morgan – MP for North Shropshire

It was with great pride that I witnessed the official opening of our new Veterans’ Centre at the Orthopaedic Hospital earlier this spring. I have seen the great work carried out at the site firsthand and it was heart-warming to see the staff there getting the recognition they deserve during the visit by the Duchess of Edinburgh.

However, it also served as a reminder of how much more needs to be done to connect this fantastic hospital to the local area, wider region and country as a whole. As it stands, we have a first-class hospital being let down by third-class transport links.

That’s one of the reasons I have been campaigning in Parliament for the reopening of the railway line between Oswestry and Gobowen. Reinstating the old line and adding a stop at the Orthopaedic Hospital would help patients, staff and visitors as well as boosting the local economy.

Our orthopaedic hospital is nationally renowned for its world-class facilities and outstanding patient satisfaction and therefore we need to do everything possible to improve its accessibility.

Travelling from Oswestry to Gobowen should be a short trip, yet current infrastructure means this is only true if you have immediate access to a car. Vulnerable and elderly people, who make up a large proportion of the hospital’s patients, have very limited options. Meanwhile highly qualified staff are put off from applying to work at the hospital due to the poor commuting links that mean the only way to get home from a night shift is to drive.

Reconnecting the train line won’t be easy but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. It is ridiculous that a town of Oswestry’s size is not connecting to the national rail network.

Sorting out our transport links would help hospitals, help high streets, help the environment and help to unlock Oswestry’s full potential.