Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust announced the results of a consultation on the future of the county's health services on Monday.

Key issues for Grantham include:
A permanent end to emergency general surgery
Grantham Hospital's midwife-led maternity unit to remain open providing it can reach a target of 300 births a year
An end to stroke treatments at Grantham Hospital
More simple operations carried out at the hospital.

Hospital campaigner Tony Burns said: "The PCT's proposals have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. This huge public consultation was a complete waste of time and money. It's about time the public refused to play this government's silly games and not take part in any further public consultations of any sort."

Consultant emeritus in A&E medicine Lakshmi Chakrabarti said: "This means A&E is being downgraded. Or in other words Grantham Hospital does not exist as a hospital. The hospital should be renamed as Diagnostic Unit and Minor Surgery Unit or Satellite Station for Lincoln and Boston. Grantham is growing. It should come with a Health Information Pack or Health Warning Pack."

Members of SOS Grantham Hospital held an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss the changes Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust have implemented. They called the loss of emergency surgery 'a bitter blow'.
SOS Grantham Hospital chairman Charmaine Morgan said: "On November 20 Martin McShane stated there are 'no cuts at Grantham Hospital but changes'. There clearly are cuts to our A&E services. The PCT has not listened to either the concerns of the 2,600 local people and businesses who submitted consultation feedback, nor a growing band of medical evidence which shows the longer patients have to travel to an A&E unit the greater the risk to the patient."

Coun Ray Wootton, whose ward includes Grantham Hospital, said: "Will Lincolnshire PCT accept responsibility for the risk that lives may be lost now they have decided to abolish emergency general surgery at Grantham? With Grantham Growth bid in, the potential population could grow to 48,000 by 2016 and 60,000 by 2026. The possibility of seriously injured patients surviving must now be reduced if they have to travel to other hospitals."

Hospital campaigner Coun Mike Williams said: "I think the consultation was an absolute sham. Nothing's changed from what they said months ago - they haven't taken notice of anybody. The maternity service is vital for Grantham and I fought long and hard to keep the consultant-led service there. The first thing we've got to do is make sure keep that maternity unit stays open."

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