United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust: Campaigners launch petition to call for funding for new Grantham Hospital

Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital launched a petition on the Parliament website which calls for a new site on the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks off the A52.

Campaigners said the current hospital is in need of “significant investment” and is in a “poor state of repair”.

They said the barracks would be “ideal” as it is a large site which has already seen approval for a new 3,700-home garden village.

Jody Clark, who has led the campaign group since the overnight closure of the hospital’s A&E in August 2016, said the town needs healthcare funding for the long term.

“By attending the engagement events and board meetings, I understand the back log of maintenance issues, the fire safety improvements needed and the reconfiguration of services under the NHS long term plan,” she said.

“The cost to implement these improvements would be comparable to building a new one especially if a deal can be reached with developers.

“We have lost emergency paediatrics and maternity services, as well as overnight emergency care in Grantham.

“We deserve some investment, something new and something local, that can help our, ever growing town survive for the long term.”

The future of services at Grantham Hospital currently falls under the acute services review led by the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, which has yet to be published.

John Turner, senior responsible officer for the STP, told health scrutiny councillors recently that he recognised the state the hospital was in.

“The site is a very old site and I can see why the local population would want to raise that issue in the community and with us,” he said.

“We will see where we go with that one.”

Meanwhile, Lincolnshire councillors have referred the ongoing, overnight closure of the A&E department at Grantham Hospital to the Prime Minister.

The Health Scrutiny Panel for Lincolnshire made the decision after it said no progress had been made following a referral of the decision to the Secretary of State in January 2018.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust closed the department overnight in August 2016, a move which it said was “temporary’.

Campaigners have called for a solution to the overnight closure after increased demand at the department.

Bosses at ULHT have maintained that the future of Grantham A&E is being developed by the Lincolnshire STP and will form part of a public consultation.

Calvin Robinson , Local Democracy Reporting Service