December 5, 2019 3.41 pm This story is over 51 months old

Lincolnshire hospitals ‘underfunded’, says John McDonnell in Lincoln visit

He says its ‘under pressure all the time’

Lincolnshire’s hospital trust is underfunded and in need of “consistent” financial support, according to Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell.

Mr McDonnell, who was in Lincoln to support Labour’s parliamentary candidate, Karen Lee, said hospitals had been hit by “nine years of harsh austerity”.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, which runs Lincoln County Hospital and Boston Pilgrim Hospital, is currently in financial and quality special measures with a deficit target of £70 million for 2019/20.

Mr McDonnell said the problems at the trust was “largely down to underfunding” and that it was “under pressure all the time”.

“What we need now is consistent funding and that is what they will get from Labour,” he said.

“What we’ve put forward is 4% growth that the clinicians have asked for and we are going to tackle social care, because a lot of the people who wind up in hospital are older people.”

The health service in the county also needs £450 million for backlog maintenance and to fund future healthcare plans.

Lincoln County Hospital. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Lincolnite and BBC Radio Lincolnshire will host a live debate will all the candidates on Monday, December 9 at 7pm. More info here.

Sarah Furley, programme director for the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, said in June that the “suggested changes” in the acute services review would cost around £52 million alone.

Mr McDonnell said the party has put forward £15 billion worth of capital funding for the health service in its manifesto.

He added that it should be the clinicians who decide where the money goes for hospital services.

“Let the people are the frontline tell us what is needed, rather than politicians in Whitehall decide or use them as publicity stunts,” he said.

Voters will head to the polls on December 12 to cast their ballot in the third General Election in four years.

The seven candidates bidding to become the city’s MP are:

  • Rob Bradley, Independent
  • Sally Horscroft, Green Party
  • Caroline Kenyon, Liberal Democrat
  • Karl McCartney, Conservative Party
  • Karen Lee, Labour Party
  • Charles Shaw, Liberal
  • Reece Wilkes, Brexit Party

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