Two years since you rallied to save hospital services - are they safe?
Monday, 1pm - TWO years on from the Journal's protest rally opposing cuts to health services, the future looks brighter at Grantham Hospital - although the future of the midwife managed maternity unit hangs in the balance.
Monday, 1pm - TWO years on from the Journal's protest rally opposing cuts to health services, the future looks brighter at Grantham Hospital - although the future of the midwife managed maternity unit hangs in the balance.The Journal organised the rally in Wyndham Park in September 2006 cuts were threatened to a number of services at Grantham Hospital - including A&E.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust was struggling to get its finances under control and had proposed a number of cuts to services.
Thousands attended the rally to demand an end to the cuts. A delegation that met with the trust after the protest was told by chairman David Bowles that future decisions might not be popular.
The future of the hospital was finally decided in November 2007 with the outcome of Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust's Shaping Health for Lincolnshire consultation on the future of the county's medical services.
It was announced that emergency general surgery would end permanently, stroke patients would no longer be treated at Grantham Hospital and that 300 births a year were needed for the midwife-managed maternity unit to remain viable.
Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust also announced that more simple operations would be carried out at the hospital.
So what's the situation now?
Maternity
UNCERTAINTY remains over the future of the maternity service offered at Grantham Hospital.
Around 600 births are needed either in Grantham's midwife-managed maternity unit or at home in the two years to the end of April 2010 if the service is to remain viable.
Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust says there is potential for around 800 births a year in the Grantham area and that the maternity unit at Grantham will stay open if mothers choose to use it.
Many first-time mums or those facing complications use the consultant-run service at Lincoln.
Since May this year around 70 babies have been born at Grantham Hospital. At the current rate fewer than 400 babies will be born at the unit by the 2010 deadline.
Emergency general surgery
EMERGENCY general surgery was stopped at Grantham Hospital in February 2007 and a decision was taken to permanently end the service as part of the Shaping Health for Lincolnshire consultation.
When the decision was taken campaigners said the change meant the hospital no longer had full accident and emergency capability.
A trust spokesman said: "We still carry out emergency surgery and have access to surgery for trauma 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"The only surgery that ceased for safety reasons and low patient numbers in 2007 was level 3 (critical)."
Surgery
LAST year 10,683 operations were carried out at Grantham Hospital - 15 per cent more than the previous year.
The hospital offers a wide range of operations including trauma, breast surgery and reconstruction, urology, hernias, major bowel surgery, gall bladder removal, orthopaedics (such as hip and knee replacements) and day surgery covering a wide variety of specialties such as dermatology which carry out 10 procedures per clinic day.
Diagnostics
A NEW 550,000 64 slice CT scanner was installed in April with capability to undertake cardiac scanning, virtual colonoscopy, brain perfusion, and venous/arterial fly-through imaging.
The endoscopy department has been re-equipped.
The Grantham MP
MP for Grantham Quentin Davies described the rally was a great moment in Grantham's history.
He said: "It produced the result we wanted. We have a very successful, small but much appreciated district general hospital.
"The hospital was going to turned into just an out-patient department for Lincoln Hospital and we saved it and I'm very pleased we did.
"You never know what will happen tomorrow, but the last two years have been as encouraging as we've ever had."
The campaigner
District and county councillor and hospital campaigner Mike Williams said: "If we hadn't fought, the hospital would have been on the road to closure. I think we did prevent any further cuts. The encouraging thing was we had the support of the people who live here and the turnout in Wyndham Park underlined that.
"I would like to see a full consultant-led maternity service in Grantham. I think it's something we should continue to fight for."
The consultant
Retired A&E consultant Lakshmi Chakrabarti said: "If you ask me, Grantham Hospital doesn't exist because in this day and age I cannot imagine a hospital where there's no emergency treatment.
"To me it appears that Grantham Hospital's improvements have only been where diagnostics are concerned.
"When I look at what the hospital was and what it is now I feel like crying.
"Grantham is going to become a cottage hospital apart from some of the routine operations."
The hospital trust boss
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Gary Walker said: "Grantham and District Hospital has a very positive future and we continue to
work closely with Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust and the local community to ensure that we expand services at the hospital as we have done for the past two years.
"There have been a range of significant investments in services and facilities at Grantham and District Hospital.
"In recent months we have spent 1.5 million on equipment and buildings including a state-of-the-art CT scanner, surgical equipment and refurbishment of wards. We have also re-equipped the hospital's endoscopy service which runs alongside the day unit.
"The future of Grantham and District Hospital is as important to us as it is to the local community."
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Thursday 11 March 2010
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