THE Journal has been fighting its campaign to save services at Grantham Hospital since August 2005, when former hospital director Dominic Cox admitted A&E was under review as part of the NHS "improvement plan".
A protest march organised by the Journal in October 2005 forced United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust to backtrack on plans to downgrade A&E. A statement signed by former chairman Jenny Green, former chief executive Roger Paffard and then chief ope
rating officer Helen Scott-South pledged that the level of service would not change.
Later that year Mr Paffard left his post to spend more time with his family and in March Trust management suffered heavy criticism from Trent Strategic Health Authority.
Shortly afterwards Mrs Green resigned, saying someone with different skills was needed to lead the Trust to financial stability.
The Trust worked with a "turnaround team" sent in by the Department of Health to find ways to stop a monthly overspend of £2.5 million a month, and in June the Trust announced it would shed 317 whole time equivalent jobs to add to the 145 staff who left and were not replaced last year.
It is also considering a range of "strategic options" - requiring public consultation - including creating a "locality hospital" at Grantham and retaining district general hospitals only at Lincoln and Boston.
Proposals included downgrading A&E to an emergency care centre, stopping most surgery, closing the midwife-led maternity unit and cutting children's services.
A public consultation was due to start in November but was then delayed until February because of the suspension of interim chief executive Helen Scott-South over breaches of operation waiting times.
On September 9 thousands attended the Journal's rally in Wyndham Park to protest against the proposals. MP for Grantham Quentin Davies announced he was in talks with two other hospital trusts about the possibility of Grantham Hospital being run by another Trust.
At a meeting after the rally, new chairman of the Trust David Bowles promised to be open and honest with the public but warned that the outcome of the review of services at Grantham Hospital might not be popular.
Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust later announced the formal consultation on proposals would begin in April following a period of "pre-consultation" from February.
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