Hospital moves to suspend surgery

The suspension will come into effect by the end of March

Emergency general surgery is to be suspended from the end of March at a Lincolnshire hospital because it says it cannot provide safe patient care.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said the low number of patients needing such surgery meant it was unable to maintain the skill levels of surgeons.

The decision at Grantham Hospital was made on advice from medical staff, managers said.

It means treatment of conditions like appendicitis will stop.

All other services, including emergency medical admissions, planned surgery, and outpatients will continue as normal.

We have taken this decisive action now to ensure that the increased risk does not result in a serious incident Gary Walker, chief executive

Only one person a day required this type of surgery at the trust, the hospital said in a statement.

Such low numbers meant increasing levels of risk to patients, the statement added.

In addition to maintaining skill levels the trust found it difficult to recruit consultants because of the number of patients involved.

'Overwhelming advice'

Any permanent change would need to be considered by the local health watchdog and be opened up to public consultation.

Lincolnshire County Councillor Amanda Puttick said she was "extremely concerned" by the move.

"We will be writing to ask them to clarify how long this temporary suspension will be going on for. We are worried they will be losing this level of service and care in Grantham".

Protocols to prioritise where patients should be referred to by their family doctor or transported to by ambulance were being developed, the trust said.

Chief executive Gary Walker said: "We have received clear and overwhelming advice from senior medical staff on this issue.

"We have taken this decisive action now to ensure that the increased risk does not result in a serious incident."