July 2, 2018 3.11 pm This story is over 78 months old

Council leaders put pressure on health plans reveal

People need to have their say
Councillor Matthew Lee (left) and Councillor Martin Hill. Photo: SKDC

Two council leaders have put pressure on health officials after sending a letter asking them to make their plans for the future of Grantham A&E public.

Grantham A&E was controversially closed at night by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust back in 2016.

A minor injuries until trial was put in place after the closure, but this is now currently under review by South West Lincolnshire CCG and could be removed.

As previously reported, health bosses recently said no decision will be made on the future of Grantham A&E until a plan for a major shakeup of NHS services in Lincolnshire is published.

However, Senior Responsible Officer for the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan John Turner said there will be no plan published until 2019.

Letter to health authority

Leader of South Kesteven District Council, Councillor Matthew Lee, and leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Councillor Martin Hill, wrote a letter to John Turner.

In the letter Councillors Lee and Hill ask United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group to publish their plans for the future of healthcare at Grantham Hospital, so that members of the public can have their say.

The closure was supposed to be temporary, but is still in place, and councillors Lee and Hill highlighted residents fears that Lincoln, Boston or Peterborough are too far away and they will not receive emergency treatment in time.

There is cross-party political support for a return of 24-hour provision to Grantham and frustration at the lack of engagement to discuss progress towards that ambition and the seeming indifference of both ULHT and the CCG.

The letter was suggested by district and county councillor Ray Wootten, a long-standing hospital campaigner.

He said: “I am pleased that both South Kesteven and Lincolnshire councils have supported my proposal that will continue to put pressure on ULHT and the CCG to disclose their plans so that our residents can have their say.”

Read the letter in full

Previous video interviews about Grantham A & E: