This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Grantham A&E ‘should not reopen overnight’
Grantham & District Hospital A&E Emergency Care Centre would not be safe to reopen overnight, an NHS report has recommended.
Grantham Hospital restricted its A&E opening hours in August last year due to a shortage of doctors.
The United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) had wanted to reopen the department last month following a recruitment drive.
The report said the trust should continue to provide A&E services daily between 8am and 6.30pm.
It also said there had been ‘no reported patient harm as a result of the closure’.
Nick Boles, the Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, said: “I'm dismayed and furious and sort of just stunned.”
He accused NHS Improvement, which commissioned the report, of attempting ‘a wholesale downgrade and reorganisation of A&E services in Lincolnshire’.
In response NHS Improvement said: “We commissioned this report to ensure that any decision made by the Trust is grounded in expert views on patient safety, which remains our top priority in terms of Lincolnshire's A&E services.”
It said it would continue to work closely with the trust, and other partners, to progress a new model of urgent care for the county, as recommended in the report.
Neill Hepburn, medical director at ULHT, said: “We understand this is a frustrating time for our staff and patients and we do remain committed to Grantham hospital, but we will only provide services that are safe.”
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