Council "not going to lie down" over hospital changes, says leader

Proposals to move some services from Scunthorpe General Hospital to Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby aren't acceptable, according to North Lincolnshire Council leader Rob Waltham. The full council voted unanimously to oppose the proposals, and threatened a judicial if the plans go ahead.

Cllr Rob Waltham said: "If this is the proposal that they intend to carry forward then they are going to have a tough time on their hands because we are not going to lie down.

"We want to make sure that they are listening to what people say, listening to what the council says and most importantly making sure that they act on that."

A consultation on the public's views launched at the end of the September and runs until January 5 2024. NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board says the proposals put forward will improve the quality of care, and are necessary to meet the pressures of staff shortages.

Cllr Waltham said: "If they're not going to listen to us we will use the full force and might of the council council to do anything that we need to do to try to protect as much as we possible can locally - because local matters.

"The bit that concerns us particularly is access to provision for older residents. It is okay to think that older people might need some specialist care which might be on a regional footing but their recuperation must be local."

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