Health

Two of the biggest challenges currently being faced by GP surgeries in south Lincolnshire come from 30 per cent of patients being over the age of 65 and a third of patients being of Eastern European descent, a report says. An increase in the migrant population has impacted on complexities of health, communication and education, whilst surgeries also battle to ...

Young men in Lincolnshire are being urged to sign up to a blood stem cell or bone marrow register. It’s a potentially lifesaving move but statistics revealed by blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan reveal that 46 per cent of young men from the East Midlands could not be encouraged to sign for any reason. There are 3,226 from Lincolnshire on ...

Ambulances spent 518 hours queuing at Boston and Peterborough hospitals last month, contributing to south Lincolnshire having the worst response times in the county. The time spent waiting to hand over patients equates to 43 12-hour ambulance crew shifts. The figures were revealed to The Voice days after the Care Quality Commission returned to East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) for ...

There are moves to use online technology such as Skype and FaceTime to allow ‘virtual clinics’ and remote diagnosis in south Lincolnshire. South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group is exploring opportunities to be able to deliver its services differently and making use of new technology.   A spokesman said: “We are currently running a small pilot to offer TeleDermatology, which allows ...

A champion for health service users has urged GPs in South Holland to increase opening hours next winter to reduce pressure on A&E departments, after only two agreed to this year. South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group secured funds from NHS England to enable increased opening hours. Sarah Fletcher, chief executive officer of Healthwatch Lincolnshire, said: “With the very publicised pressures ...

Food manufacturer Bakkavor and Spalding health and wellbeing charity Tonic Health have teamed up again to promote healthy eating. The second educational workshop for schoolchildren aged from 5 to 12 focused on wraps and other nutritious alternatives to bread. It followed another successful workshop last month on the importance of fruit and salads for a healthy diet. These workshops are ...

Overweight patients and smokers in south Lincolnshire could be refused certain medical procedures under moves being discussed. The clinical committee of South Lincolnshire’s Clinical Commissioning Group recently agreed to  investigate the idea as part of a package of measures being considered to improve ‘Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP)’, though has said since there are ‘no specific plans’. Minutes of ...

“Final test stages” of a £1million system to allow GPs and hospitals in Lincolnshire to share patient records are now being completed. The system known as Care Portal will allow health and social care professionals to access records of consenting patients rather than each compiling separate details. A spokesman for South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “The final test ...

The public is being invited to put questions to the NHS Trust board responsible for overseeing community health services in Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) runs services across the whole county, aiming to deliver great care, close to home. The trust helps patients to stay independent by providing treatment in the local community or in patients’ own homes.  LCHS ...

GP surgeries across south Lincolnshire are planning expansion and improvement projects as patient numbers continue to rise, alongside ongoing countywide recruitment challenges.   Beechfield Medical Centre, in Spalding, alone has taken on 4,000 additional patients since 2011, rising from 13,500 to close to 17,500. Building work is imminent there, at The Abbeyview Surgery in Crowland and Munro Medical Centre’s Pinchbeck ...

Former patients of King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital are being urged to return medical equipment in an amnesty period on now. Hundreds of frames, walking sticks and crutches are loaned out to support patients in their recovery. The hospital maintains up-to-date records of its three-month loans but many patients do not return equipment after the period is up. This week ...

Trustees at Holbeach Hospital are pressing ahead with plans for an eight-bed expansion of the site. An application for planning permission has been submitted to South Holland District Council and, if approved, there is a hope the extension could be in use by the beginning of next year. The extension is expected to cost £600,000 to £700,000 and may create ...

Food manufacturer Bakkavor has teamed up with Spalding-based health and wellbeing charity Tonic Health to promote healthy eating among local schoolchildren. An educational workshop for children aged between 5 and 12 on the importance of fruit and salads for a healthy diet was led by Sam Hetherington, development chef at Bakkavor Salads in Spalding. The workshop at Tonic Health’s base at Broadgate ...

A maternity unit is giving women and their partners the opportunity to help shape and improve its services. The department at Peterborough City Hospital is working with local healthcare partners to launch a maternity services liaison committee, a forum where service users can give feedback on their experiences. Women who have had a baby in the last three years or are ...

Moves are being made to bring more clinics and services to Spalding’s Johnson Community Hospital. Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recently begun running gynaecology clinics at the site and will soon introduce a paediatrics clinic. Meanwhile, talks over resuming a bus service to the hospital are also ongoing. John Turner, of South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said ...

People are being urged to avoid under-pressure accident and emergency (A&E) departments unless absolutely necessary. Hospitals serving South Holland are failing to meet targets to deal with 95 per cent of patients within four hours, mirroring nationwide issues. Last month, Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital dealt with 84 per cent of patients within four hours. Whilst, in October, at Peterborough City Hospital ...

An inquest hearing began today (Wednesday) to establish whether a massive overdose of painkilling drug administered to a burns victim was the cause of his death. University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust has admitted that Ben Steele, of Holbeach Clough, was given too much ketamine – said to be seven times the recommended dose – but denies that was the cause of ...

When John McGeorge-Oanta was told he was suffering ME he was serving as a medic in the RAF and had four young sons – the news was devastating. He struggled on varying reduced hours for four years before being invalided in 2006 facing a future of being cared for by his wife. He said: “It was like being presented with a ...

Few people can say they retired from the same job in which they started 45 years previously. Loyal NHS employee Katrina (Tina) Gray, who finished working at Johnson Community Hospital on Wednesday (Nov 30), is one such person. However, although she started and finished in the same role, Tina (62) held other roles inbetween as well as taking a break while ...

Lord Porter of Spalding is calling for further investment into pancreatic cancer research. He is also urging people to know the symptoms of the disease. It follows a reception at Westminster hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for pancreatic cancer, attended by Lord Porter, who is leader of South Holland District Council. He learned that around 665 people in the ...