Our Emergency Departments (ED) are extremely busy and our Trust, along with other health and care partners, is urging people to think about which service they opt for when unwell.

The Think Which Service Campaign aims to help you to know where to go to get the right advice, support and treatment for your health needs as quickly as possible.

You can also visit NHS 111 online or call 111 if you need urgent medical help or consider visiting your local Minor Injury Unit in Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Oswestry and Whitchurch. These can provide rapid treatment for injuries and illnesses that don’t require emergency hospital care.

Despite the challenges, urgent and emergency care services at both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford remain open for anyone who needs them. Please do continue to come forward.

For further information about Think Which Service, visit: http://thinkwhichservice.co.uk/

Last week, we had some very special visitors to see our young patients as part of National Play in Healthcare Week including Bracken the Shetland pony, a fire engine and a magician.

It was such a wonderful week and fantastic to see the joy the visitors brought to the young patients on the Children’s Ward at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

Play is so important for our younger patients to help them talk about their feelings, distract them during treatment and actually have some fun.

There is still time to vote for your hospital hero in the Shropshire Star Public Recognition Award category with the deadline this Friday (25 October).

All three finalists are fabulous contenders and we are asking you to help choose the worthy winner.

The Public Recognition Award is part of our Trust’s Celebratory Awards and is the only category that patients, families and members of the public can nominate and vote for in the awards.

The three finalists for the Shropshire Star Public Recognition Award are:

Janice Llewellyn, Children’s Oncology and Haematology Nurse; Ward 24, Respiratory, and the Lingen Davies Centre.

If you can spare a couple of minutes and would like to find out more about our finalists and why they have been nominated, please visit https://trustawards.co.uk/shropshirestar

You can also use the same link to vote – it would mean so much to our finalists to be recognised.

The deadline to vote is Friday 25 October and the winner will be announced at the Trust’s Celebratory Awards on Friday 15 November.

If there are any budding young artists out there, they still have a chance to enter our artwork competition for under 18s.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for children and young people to draw, paint, colour, design what health and wellbeing means to them.

The winning artwork could take pride of place on a construction hoarding at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and as a feature wall near the main reception at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

The full competition brief and how to enter can be found below. The closing date for entries is Friday 15 November, and can be sent by post or digitally.

Groups and individuals are invited to take part. There are two categories: Children up to 10 years old and children and young adults aged 11-18.

Full details can be found on our website: www.sath.nhs.uk/news/hospital-artwork-competition-launches-for-children-and-young-people/