Mayoral Medal heroes: Bev Smith

Independent and family-owned Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio offers accessible regular dental services, as well as specialist treatment and same day emergency appointments.

The practice opposite Alive Church on Newland in Lincoln was opened by husband and wife team Manu Cherian and Smitha Mathew in November 2021. The couple have been practising dentists in Lincolnshire for the past 13 years and are fully aware of the needs of the local population.

The couple also own the Kordel House Dental Practice in Horncastle. After purchasing the Horncastle practice four years ago and transforming it from a place that was going to be shut down into a thriving centre, they were determined to bring a surgery with the same ethos to Lincoln.

Experienced dentist Dr Manu Cherian performing treatment on a patient. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Manu and Smitha told The Lincolnite they know dental access is a big issue and they wanted to open somewhere that was accessible for regular dental services, but with the addition of advanced cosmetic and surgical procedures.

As well as owning the business, the husband and wife duo also work in the practice and carry out a lot of the treatments themselves.

Smith Mathew (pictured) and her husband Manu Cherian want to give their patients a continuity of excellent care. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio offers regular dental services, specialist treatment, and same day emergency appointments. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

A check-up on the NHS costs £23.80 and at Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio the cost is less than £2 higher at a price of £25.

In addition to check-ups and regular treatments, such as extractions and fillings, the practice also offers specialist services such as a orthodontics, implants, hygienist, treatments under sedation, and composite bondings for a same day smile makeover.

Service with a smile from Dr Manu Cherian. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Invisalign teeth straightening treatment is available at Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Manu and Smitha would also like to add more specialist services in the future to do even more in house and reduce the need for referrals.

They said: “When they come to us and see the same faces, patients will get used to the continuity of care which we have in both our Horncastle and Lincoln practices. We have been really busy and it is going well, and we are still taking on new patients.”

Dr Manu Cherian and Dr Smith Mathew provide a continuity of care for their patients at Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Inside one of the surgeries at Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Lincoln Dental & Implant Studio is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm (closed 1pm to 2pm). It is also open for implant appointments on Saturdays by request.

Anyone wishing to register with the practice should call 01522 304314 or email [email protected]. Appointments can also be booked online here.

A series of applause, over £6,000 on a fundraiser and a specially made tribute shirt by Lincoln City are just some of the ways the local community has remembered 12-year-old Ted Vines a week on from his death in a crash.

Ted tragically lost his life after a car crash on the B1190 at Bardney on Sunday, January 16, while on his way to a football match at Branston.

In an emotional tribute, Ted’s family called him a “special part of the community” who was “happy, fun and brilliant” with so many people who loved him.

Ted Vines.

His local team, Alford Town Under-12s, have set up a crowdfunder (donate here) to raise money for events to celebrate Ted’s life later in the year, and it has reached an incredible £6,000 already.

The huge support for the fundraiser was met with “heartfelt gratitude” by the football club, who said in a statement: “Alford Town Football Club would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all those who have sent messages of condolence through the club to the Vines family at this incredibly difficult time and for all the amazing donations that have been made to Ted’s memorial fund via the online Just Giving page.

“In addition the club greatly appreciates the immensely supportive response of the whole football community across Lincolnshire to this tragedy. Our thoughts remain with Paul, Sarah, Will, Charlie and Stella Vines.”

There was also a minute’s applause held at the Under-12s game before kick-off on Sunday, January 23, while Boston United Community donated a shirt with Ted’s surname on the back.

Boston United Community donated a football shirt to Alford Town Under-12s in memory of Ted Vines. | Photo: Alford Town FC

Lincoln City paid their respects before Saturday’s game with Plymouth Argyle in League One by giving Ted his own shirt and placing it in the dugout.

As well as this, a petition was set up by residents in Bardney, calling for improvements to the road and an introduction of a 40mph speed limit on the section of the B1190 known as the Bardney Causeway.

This petition (see it in full here), launched on Wednesday, January 19, just three days after Ted died, has just below 1,500 signatures at the time of reporting, and calls for change to “prevent anything like this happening ever again”.

The petition calls for improvements to the Bardney Causeway, which has numerous pothole issues. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

A former town councillor has launched a renewed appeal to re-establish Louth and Grantham Hospitals as full A&E centres after she and her family experienced issues first-hand.

Pauline Palmer – who served on Mablethorpe and Sutton Town Council and whose husband Stephen Palmer sat at district and county level – has received more than 830 signatures on her change.org petition since setting it up at the beginning of January.

Mrs Palmer and a close family member have both experienced being transferred away from Louth Urgent Care Centre due to staff being unable to deal with their medical problems.

On November 26, Mrs Palmer suffered a bang on the head and several days later on December 3 went to Louth UCC after phoning 111.

Following several tests she was then passed on to Grimsby following concerns of a bleed on the brain. She spent more than five hours in A&E before being sent home with high blood pressure put down to anxiety.

Several weeks later on January 8, Mrs Palmer said she was “in immense pain” and her husband drove her to Pilgrim A&E where she was found to have a cyst in her neck and post-concussion syndrome.

An eight-hour stay in hospital later she was sent home with strong painkillers and diazapam for the spasm.

Louth Hospital. | Photo: ULHT

The day prior, on January 7, a close family member went to Louth UCC with an infection in their mouth causing intense swelling which had not been aided by a prescription from a doctor.

She was told initially to go to Lincoln Hospital but subsequently had to be sent on to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for an urgent operation.

Mrs Palmer said the issues “highlight the pressure that Pilgrim and Grimsby are under, especially at present”.

“If they [Louth] were a fully-equipped A&E they would have been able to have done more for her, and me,” said Mrs Palmer.

“If Louth and Grantham reopened as A&E hospitals there would be four in Lincolnshire, it would be less far for people close to those [areas] to travel but also it would take the pressure off of Boston and Lincoln.”

She added, however:  “I cannot thank Pilgrim staff for their care on that day and I am back to full health now.”

Both Mrs Palmer and the family member had to rely on their partners to drive them to the hospitals.

“There’s no way you could do it with public transport, that’s just ridiculous.

“You have to have a car to be able to do it but I assume there’s a lot of people on the coast that don’t drive or have access to a car… they’d  have to rely on the voluntary car service or something where they have to pay. It’s just not practical distance-wise.”

Mrs Palmer suggested diverting funding to extend Louth and Grantham A&Es, rather than Boston.

She said both hospitals had enough space to accommodate extra staff and that facilities would be cheaper in the long-term.

She felt improvements to Louth and Grantham would help attract staff.

The Grantham Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre entrance. | Photo: Kylie Warrington for The Lincolnite

Last week Lincolnshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee said it had “serious concerns” about proposals for the future of local health services.

It agreed with the need for “significant and permanent” improvements to local services which ensured the “highest possible standards of patient care are provided giving the best possible outcomes for patients”.

However, it says three of the four proposals put forward by NHS Lincolnshire caused “serious concerns”.

Its concerns included the impact on people in the east of the county who would have to travel, possibly outside of the county, to access their nearest hospital.

Councillor Carl Macey, chairman of the heath scrutiny panel for Lincolnshire. Picture: Calvin Robinson.

In response to the petition, Clair Raybould, director of operations at NHS Lincolnshire CCG said: “As the petition is currently live it would not be appropriate for us to comment at this time.

“We will of course review and respond once any petition is submitted to NHS Lincolnshire CCG. We have recently completed a 12-week public consultation inviting people from across Lincolnshire to share their views on a range of NHS services, including urgent and emergency care services at Grantham and District Hospital.

“We are currently reviewing public feedback to ensure that it influences any decisions about the future of these NHS services.

“We do not comment on individual patient cases. We encourage anyone who has concerns about a service to contact the service provider’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service for the appropriate support.”