Earlier this week, Mark Brassington, chief operating officer at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, was candid about the “significant pressures” hospitals face.
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He insisted that the departments were safe for patients, but admitted that performance levels were not where the trust wanted them to be.
But as ambulances queue at Lincoln County Hospital, no prospect of Grantham A&E being open 24/7 any time soon and poor waiting times, what is being done to stem the tide of demand?
ULHT chief operating officer Mark Brassington. Photo: Lincolnshire Reporter
The county’s emergency departments are not big enough to deal with the demand for patients, he said.
Grantham & District Hospital. Photo: United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
It’s something we can all imagine, arriving at A&E late at night, or any time of day, and being crammed into a unit along with patients of all kinds of injuries and illnesses.
“At the minute, we are providing care to patients in environments that we would not necessarily wish to because of the sheer volume of patients that we have in our departments,” said Mr Brassington.
But it’s going to come at a £20 million cost and will need to get the nod from the Department of Health and Social Care.
For now, expect the soar in demand at the county’s emergency units to go on for much longer.
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Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
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