Health

UKIP’s parliamentary candidate for South Holland and The Deepings is urging Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to quickly investigate the A&E situation in Lincolnshire hospitals. Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital is on black alert due to an extremely high number of patients and beds being at a premium. David Parsons says he has heard of patients presenting at A&E departments at Pilgrim Hospital and Lincoln County ...

Half of the proceeds of Spalding’s Johnson Community Hospital’s summer ball has been presented to Lincolnshire Community Health Services Trust’s Charitable Funds. The ball, held in July, raised £3,000 in total, with the other half going to the League of Friends.

Community health services across Lincolnshire have been rated as “good” following a comprehensive inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The inspection last September looked at services provided by Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), including those for inpatients, urgent care, community health, children and families, and end of life care. The inspections assessed services on five key areas: ...

A grieving Spalding man whose wife of 48 years died after a hospital mistake has fought a campaign to ensure that something similar cannot happen again. The NHS has admitted that it “materially contributed” to the death of Ann Coupland. Widower John said: “I just don’t want any other family to go through what we did. “Ann and I were ...

For one day, the discomfort and nuisance of dealing with her lifelong health condition was put on hold for five-year-old diabetes sufferer Faith Robinson. The brave West Pinchbeck youngster was one of 90 children with terminal and life-threatening illnesses taken on a magical trip to Lapland, thanks to charity When You Wish Upon A Star. The opportunity arose through Diabeteenies, ...

A Spalding GP surgery has said it will work with a standards watchdog after it was placed in the band of surgeries requiring earliest inspections. Munro Medical Centre was placed in Band 1 in a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as reported in a story in the Spalding and South Holland Voice last week. Munro Medical Centre has ...

  A new state-of-the-art medical centre is on the cards for Holbeach – bringing the town’s existing surgeries together under one roof. Holbeach-based firm Ashley King Developments is seeking permission to build a new surgery, together with retail pharmacy, on the former Langwith Builders’ site in Church Street. The proposal, which will be submitted to South Holland District Council imminently, ...

Three food establishments in South Holland have the lowest possible food hygiene rating. Long Sutton takeaways San San, in High Street, and Chilli Hut, in Market Place, are zero-rated, as is Toppings in Westlode Street, Spalding. The rating reflects the food hygiene procedures, structure and cleanliness, and confidence in management. Importantly, it is not based on any other factors such ...

At least one primary school in South Holland is poised to sever its links with a troubled meals provider. It comes after Spalding’s Monkshouse Primary School was forced to text parents at 9.30pm on Monday asking them to supply packed lunches for all children due to receive a hot lunch the following day. Its school meals provider – Food 4 ...

The next board meeting for Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) will take place on Tuesday, November 25. The monthly meeting will start at 1pm in the Royal Oak Boardroom at the trust’s headquarters at Bridge House, The Point, Sleaford, NG34 8GG. Items due to be discussed this month include updates on finance, performance and the Chief Inspector of ...

Patients with urgent hospital appointments are being asked to let their doctor know if they can’t attend. South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group is asking people who are offered an urgent two-week wait appointment to say if they are unable to keep it. This type of appointment is offered to patients showing symptoms that may be associated with cancer. Approximately nine ...

The trust which runs Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital says it has taken steps to ensure that the type of accident which contributed to a Spalding man’s death will never happen again. At a four-day inquest into his death, the jury pointed to a lack of proper staff training on how to use the hoist which John Biggadike collapsed onto, impaling himself ...

A hospital patient died within minutes of being impaled on part of a lifting hoist. A metal mounting from a knee guard perforated part of Spalding man John Biggadike’s colon during a fall. The incident occurred on ward 8A at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital where 53-year-old Mr Biggadike was being treated for abdominal fluid retention. Outlining the facts at the start ...

A medical centre’s patients’ group bid farewell to its former chairman who has retired after 20 years’ involvement. Geoff Perkins was presented with gifts from the committee of the Pennygate Patient Link at the group’s recent quiz night. Despite his retirement from the committee, Geoff was still the quiz master on what new chairman Phil Scarlett described as “a most ...

An exercise to test readiness for a flu pandemic is to be replaced with one ensuring Lincolnshire is ready to tackle ebola. The county’s resilience forum was due to be one of 11 across the country to take part in Exercise Cygnus earlier this month to ensure plans were in place nationally and locally should a flu pandemic strike. But ...

Voice readers are broadly split 50/50 on whether new-build or refurbishment is the way forward for Spalding’s Castle Sports Complex, a survey has shown. South Holland district councillors and top officers are considering the leisure centre’s future provision, with the cost of a new-build put at more than £20million by leader Coun Gary Porter. A questionnaire in last week’s edition ...

Top council officers have been tasked with the next stage of a review into the future of Spalding’s Castle Sports Complex. It comes after a leisure task group consisting of eight South Holland district councillors reported to cabinet on Tuesday after visits to five new-build and refurbished centres. One recommendation was £20,500 be provided to enable a full consultation exercise ...

Shoppers in Spalding were given advice about eyesight condition macular degeneration as part of a special event. A stall promoting Macular Society was set up at Spalding Market last week by local opticians Molsom and Associates. The stall aimed to help raise awareness of the condition, which is the most common cause of sight loss in the UK. Staff from ...

South Holland’s top leisure complex – Spalding’s Castle Sports Complex – has been declared not fit for purpose. That will perhaps come as no surprise to users of the swimming pool in Pinchbeck Road or the site’s ‘dry side’ in Albion Street. The complex is well used – with more than 306,000 visits during the last financial year – but ...

A new pilot scheme which will see firefighters responding to medical emergencies has got underway in Long Sutton. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue is working more closely with East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) to respond to life-threatening emergencies as part of the 12-month pilot Joint Ambulance Conveyance Project (JACP). It is hoped the project will help cut the length of time ...