December 15, 2017 10.57 am This story is over 75 months old

Grantham A&E to stay closed overnight

The department will stay closed.

Grantham A&E will not reopen overnight, hospital bosses in the county have decided.

In what was expected to be a formality, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust delivered the news at its board meeting in Sleaford on Friday, December 15.

The opening hours at Grantham A&E will remain from 8am to 6.30pm.

The decision will not come as a surprise to many, especially as trust medical director Dr Neill Hepburn confirmed on camera to Lincolnshire Reporter earlier in the week that the department would not be reopening at night.

ULHT had said that they hoped to reopen the department they closed overnight in August 2016 after recruiting the required number of middle grade doctors.

However, a safety review conducted by the East of England Clinical Senate and commissioned by NHS Improvement recommended that the department is not reopened overnight at this time.

Despite significant pressure from campaigners and Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles, trust officials have decided to support the senate’s recommendations.

The report also suggests that the department could be downgraded to an urgent care centre, and that any changes to service provision should be linked to the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan, which is looking at longer-term plans for care in the county.