January 12, 2022 1.28 pm This story is over 26 months old

Operations to resume as Lincolnshire hospitals step down from ‘major incident’

However, a ‘critical incident’ remains in place
Lincoln County Hospital. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust has stepped down from a major incident meaning that elective surgeries and outpatient appointments will resume on Thursday (January 13).

ULHT declared a ‘critical incident’ on January 1, 2022 after ‘extreme and unprecedented’ staff shortages, which is still in place at the time of the publication. A major incident was then declared on January 11 due to a water supply issue at Grantham hospital, and operations and outpatient appointments in Lincoln were set to be postponed for 48 hours.

The major incident has since been resolved, but the hospitals remain in a challenging position with a high demand for services.

A hospital spokesperson said: “This morning (Wednesday, January 12 2022), the Trust has stepped down from a major incident.

“The water supply issue at Grantham and District Hospital has now been resolved, but our hospitals remain in a challenging position due to high demand for urgent and emergency care services and staff shortages driven by COVID-19.

“As such, the critical incident declared on Saturday, January 1 2022 remains in place to help us to manage and maintain services for patients.

“Elective surgeries and outpatient appointments have been postponed across all of our hospitals today but will resume again tomorrow (Thursday 13 January 2022). We have contacted those affected and appointments and surgeries will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

“We offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. The safety of those in our care remains our priority and we continue to work with our health partners to maintain essential services.

“We thank our staff who continue to work tirelessly to care for their patients and support their colleagues as we work hard to restore our services, supported by local partners, volunteers and members of the armed forces, who are carrying out logistical and other supporting tasks.

“We ask the public to help support us in managing the high demand for services. We ask people to only attend A&E with serious or life threatening illnesses and to seek alternative support for on-going problems or minor injuries.

“Many illnesses can be better treated by visiting your local pharmacy, calling 111 or visiting NHS 111 online, visiting your local GP, or GP out of hours services, or attending an urgent treatment centre or minor injuries unit.”