Press release from the Grantham Hospital Defence Committee.

Ian Mihill, Chairman and Barry Phillips, Chair of the NHS Knowledge Committee, were invited to a meeting with Gary Walker , Chief Executive of ULHT and two of his colleagues at the Grantham Hospital last night (Wednesday) prior to the issue of the Press release this morning.

A full and constructive discussion took place and will continue into next week when further meetings will be held.

The actions of the Trust were explained and future plans outlined. In conjunction with the Primary Care Trust , ( PCT) and the ULHT, the Grantham Hospital Defence Committee will continue to work on behalf of the people of Grantham and surrounding areas to do all it can to ensure the long term future of the Grantham Hospital including A and E Services.

We welcome our involvement in these discussions. This reflects that the efforts of the people of Grantham to defend the hospital are recognised and that the case for the long term retention of existing services is well made. We ask all those in Grantham who wish to see their hospital retained to continue to support us in our activities at every possible opportunity to ensure that the decision makers continue to hear the arguments loudly, clearly and constantly. 

Ian Mihill
Chairman
7th February 2007.

Judicial Review

At a meeting of the Grantham Forum on Wednesday 7th February, Peter Gibson, Vice Chairman of the Grantham Hospital Defence Committee, asked the District Council for information regarding the possibility of funding for a Judicial Review regarding the actions of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.

Mr Gibson received confirmation from the District Council that they have enough funds to cover the costs of a Judicial Review if it was deemed necessary by the council.

comment by Paul Martin (website editor) :

This suspension of service is a worrying development and I am sure the GHDC will be doing their utmost for the people of the area.

As we gain more information I will be posting it on the website and emailing the mailing list members.

For now if you would like to comment or feel you can help the campaign group in anyway then please email us or pop into the forum and leave a comment.

thanks

Paul

update : 26/02/2007 12:05
The emphasis would seem to have shifted from the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust to the Primary Care Trust. The government proposals for large scale changes within the NHS have been drip fed into the national media over the last year. These changes will involve setting up regional super centres and GP led local services. This may well mean the local issues become irrelevant as the PCT seeks to follow government guidelines. Updates as and when we get them

update : 21/02/2007 21:05
There have been many discussions going on over the last two weeks and it will be interesting to know what the outcome of these meetings are. As yet the Primary Care Trust do not seem to have commented.

update : 08/02/2007 17:05
Quentin Davies has just been on Radio Lincolnshire discussing the events of the day. The talk of a Judicial Review (which the GHDC have been discussing for many weeks) may mean this matter is not as simple as the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust may have hoped.