August 10, 2016 9.54 am This story is over 91 months old

Furious Grantham MP accuses NHS trust of attempting to ‘salami slice’ town’s A&E

A Lincolnshire MP has said that he is appalled that the trust in charge of the county’s hospitals is considering closing the Grantham A&E department overnight. Nick Boles, the Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, has said that this is “the latest chapter in a long running saga of bad management at United Lincolnshire Hospitals…
Nick Boles, Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford. Photo: Policy Exchange

A Lincolnshire MP has said that he is appalled that the trust in charge of the county’s hospitals is considering closing the Grantham A&E department overnight.

Nick Boles, the Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, has said that this is “the latest chapter in a long running saga of bad management at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.”

As reported this morning, Grantham A&E is set to be closed overnight temporarily due to a severe shortage of doctors across the county.

ULHT has said that it does not have enough doctors to fill shifts in three departments 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and may put patients at risk if it does not act now.

This has has been met with criticism by Boles, who has said that the decision is “extremely worrying”.

He said: “I have spoken to the chief executive of the trust and told him that I am appalled at their failure to anticipate the exit of key members of staff and recruit replacements in advance.

“This is the latest chapter in a long running saga of bad management at ULHT.

“The new chief executive and chairman need to get a grip and turn the organisation around so things like this never happen again.

People in Grantham will be understandably concerned that this is just another attempt to salami slice our A&E and that the full service will never be restored.

“I will be writing to Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health, and Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, who recently visited Grantham Hospital at my invitation, to demand that they ensure that Grantham A&E returns to normal hours of operation as soon as possible.”

ULHT has denied that the potential overnight closure of Grantham A&E is as a result of bad management and planning.

The trust has also ruled out reducing the opening hours at Lincoln County Hospital and Pilgrim Hospital in Boston.