Lincoln Walk-In-Centre closure consultation “a lie”, says whistleblower
CCG health bosses have denied accusations made by an NHS whistleblower that the decision on plans to close the county’s only walk-in-centre has already been made, and the service’s £1m per year replacement settled. Speaking anonymously to The Lincolnite, the source, who works for the organisation, accused Lincolnshire West CCG of “lying and deceiving the public” by…
The Walk In Centre in Lincoln has been operating since 2009. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
CCG health bosses have denied accusations made by an NHS whistleblower that the decision on plans to close the county’s only walk-in-centre has already been made, and the service’s £1m per year replacement settled.
Speaking anonymously to The Lincolnite, the source, who works for the organisation, accused Lincolnshire West CCG of “lying and deceiving the public” by running a consultation on the plans.
They claimed that a new £1 million GP streaming service will instead be incorporated within a car park at the entrance to Lincoln County Hospital’s A&E department.
The source told The Lincolnite: “The ‘consultation’ that will be going ahead is a waste of time the CCG have already decided on the outcome.
“They have plans in place already to have a GP streaming service within A&E at Lincoln hospital. The plans have been drawn up and the money of £1 million has already been allocated and set aside for this GP streaming service.
“Plans are in place to build the service within the small car park outside of A&E’s entrance. These plans have been in place for months.
“The CCG are deceiving their public into thinking the walk-in-centre may stay open when in fact the new service is due to start in October 2017.
“Lies from the CCG. There will be no consultation. The decision is already made.”
The pair insisted that while a £1 million A&E streaming service at Lincoln and Pilgrim is being pursued, it is a separate project, brought together with capital funding and as part of a national initiative.
Dr Hindocha said: “This is the really frustrating thing.
“People conflate things that happen in A&E with the walk-in-centre, and I come back to my original point, this has always been and always will be about general practices and nothing to do with what goes on in A&E.
“That streaming service is completely separate, in fact that was a work stream set off nationally, it’s not a local decision, to have primary care streaming in A&E, in a completely separate dialogue. And that’s been happening with the trust, not necessarily with the CCGs.”
They said they are considering proposals and taking on board all the feedback they are receiving, but that it was about “assessing the health needs of residents”.
Sarah-Jane Mills added: “The £1 million you are referring to is capital money to develop the A&E departments at both Lincoln and Pilgrim hospitals.
“The £1 million is completely separate, it’s about building design at the two hospitals and the service is about A&E development.”
They added that the move is not about saving money, and refused to accept the closure would put pressure on Lincoln A&E.
It costs £1 million a year to run the walk-in-centre on Monks Road from a budget of over £300 million.
Some 34,000 people used the service in the last financial year.
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The 32-year-old man and 30-year-old woman arrested in the murder probe of an 11-year-old boy in Lincoln have both been released on police bail, without any charges.
The man was arrested on suspicion of murder and the woman on suspicion of manslaughter after an incident at a house on Geneva Street on St Giles in Lincoln.
Police were called to the house at 10pm on Friday night, January 22.
The 11-year-old boy was found unwell at the scene and was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
At the time Lincolnshire Police said the death was unexplained and it was treated as murder.
The man and the woman arrested at the weekend were released on police bail on Monday evening.
Lincolnshire Police said in a statement on Monday night:
“Once again, we’d like to remind people that this is an active investigation and that an 11-year-old boy has sadly lost his life.
“Speculative comments are not only deeply upsetting to those involved but can potentially undermine our investigation.
“If you have any information that can help, call 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident 472 of January 22.”
Ten people from Boston have been given fines for breaching COVID-19 regulations by driving dangerously in supermarket car parks.
Officers were called after three separate reports of dangerous driving in the car parks of Lidl and Tesco in Wyberton Fen, as well as on Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Boston.
All three incidents took place and were reported to police between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday, January 24, though it is unsure if they were connected at all.
When officers arrived, the drivers were seen doing donut manoeuvres and racing in the snow.
A total of 10 people were given £200 fines for breaking lockdown guidelines, but this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days, due to all being first time offenders.
As well as the COVID-19 fines, two of the vehicles were also seized as a result of being uninsured, with drivers reported.
A traffic offence report was also submitted after one driver was seen to be driving not just dangerously but out of control.
Inspector Fran Harrod of Lincolnshire Police said: “We would like to thank the public for bringing these incidents of dangerous driving to our attention.
“This is not only extremely dangerous to those taking part but to others in these areas.
“While we continue to engage and explain with the public, this was a blatant breach of the restrictions which will not be tolerated.”
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