October 3, 2018 4.13 pm This story is over 65 months old

Call for vote of no confidence in hospitals trust

Councillors said they shared residents’ “distress”
Boston Pilgrim Hospital. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Councillors at East Lindsey District Council have called for a vote of no confidence in the management of United Lincolnshire’s Hospital Trust for ‘failing to resolve issues’ over the past 10 years.

Labour Councillor Tony Howard will put forward a motion at the authority’s full council meeting on Wednesday in which he will also call on the council to note the importance of having a full complement of services at Pilgrim Hospital.

His motion calls for a vote to say: “This council recognises the distress felt by residents of this district due to the ongoing issues in relation to the services provided to children and expectant mothers at Boston Pilgrim Hospital.

“With some residents of this district living within sight of this hospital and many others having it as their closest main hospital, this council also notes the importance of having a full complement of these services available to avoid lengthy travelling times.”

Mr Howard’s motion calls on the trust to ‘recognise its own shortcomings in allowing these services to be brought to the brink of failure’.

ELDC Councillor Tony Howard.

He asks the trust to provide ‘monthly progress reports’ to the authority on their plans for children’s services and also calls on Louth and Horncastle MP Victoria Atkin to work with Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman “in whatever way they see fit, to enable a prompt resolution of the issues; because the current failings affect people in both constituencies, not just the ones in which the hospital stands.”

Measures have been put in place by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust to run the paediatrics unit at Pilgrim Hospital on an interim model

The service has been under review following concerns due to severe staffing shortages.

The trust did not have enough middle grade doctors to run the paediatric service full and safely.

It is now run with the back-up of short-term agency staff, many on occasional shifts.

The move has caused concern for residents who fear their services have been downgraded, and a march last month saw more than 500 people visit Boston.

Louth Hospital is among three hospitals in the county part of a major programme of fire protection works. Photo: ULHT

Another motion before the council will also call on Lincolnshire East Clinical Commissioning Group to maintain the number of beds and essential services at Louth Hospital.

Councillor George Horton’s motion calls on support from councillors due to an “increasingly elderly population coupled with the impact of rural poverty and deprivation, our struggling ambulance provision, the lack of public transport and our adopted District Plan giving rise to the building of thousands of new homes within East Lindsey.”