Grantham's Clinical Reference Group - which comprises medical staff from the hospital, managers, a GP and a patient representative - is working to develop medically safe options for the town's services.

But documents given to the Journal in November showed divisions among consultants over what services are safe and how to approach the future of the hospital.

Former hospital medical director Jim Campbell told the meeting he regretted supporting the removal of Level 3 critical care from Grantham.

A&E consultant George Oduro said he believed the position of Grantham Hospital was irretrievable and that the Trust was moving towards one main hospital with a series of smaller supporting hospitals.

He also said managers were trying to shift responsibility for the decision to downgrade Grantham Hospital on to clinicians.

Trust medical director Keith Sands responded that the Trust was actively seeking to support Grantham Hospital.
But an alternative view was offered by consultant anaesthetist Anil Tore, who said surgery was safe at the hospital unless patients needed open abdominal surgery.
At the end of the meeting the group discussed whether there truly is support for Grantham Hospital.

Notes from the meeting say: "There was evidence that, increasingly, patients were being referred or elected to travel to another centre.
"The constant negative publicity in the local media was inevitably making this worse.
"The lack of support and the views expressed by Grantham clinicians within the group made the future seem gloomy."
The group is looking at emergency services provided at hospitals in the Scottish Highlands and Hexham to see if they can provide solutions for Grantham.

*At a meeting of the Grantham and District Hospital medical advisory committee on Tuesday, October 12, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Gary Walker said there was no clinical or financial risk of closing Grantham Hospital.

He said help from clinicians was needed to achieve financial balance at all the Trust's sites.