Scunthorpe hospital changes opposed by councillors

Scunthorpe General Hospital's trauma unit and overnight emergency surgery could be moved to Grimsby

Proposed changes at Scunthorpe General Hospital will be opposed, a cross-party group of councillors has pledged.

Under the plans, some services would be hosted solely at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, rather than at both hospitals.

It would mean the loss of Scunthorpe's trauma unit as well as out-of-hours emergency overnight surgery, but both hospitals would keep their A&E units.

However, Labour and Conservative councillors have criticised the plans.

A consultation on the proposals was launched last week by the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which cited staffing shortages as the key reason behind the proposals.

Alex Seale, the ICB's North Lincolnshire director, said the hospitals found it hard to attract and retain doctors and nurses, which meant specialist staff had to work across several sites.

"Doing nothing is not a viable option. The way our services are currently organised is not sustainable," she said.

Under the plans, some services would only be hosted at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital

But a joint motion by Labour and Conservative councillors has described the changes as "a major downgrade" for the Scunthorpe hospital.

The motion, moved by Conservative group leader Councillor Rob Waltham and his Labour counterpart Councillor Len Foster, is due to be decided on at a full council meeting on Thursday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Responding to Ms Seale's comments about the plans, Mr Foster said the ICB was "billing it as a fait accompli".

"We would argue differently. The distances travelled from the Scunthorpe area to Grimsby would hinder the level of care people can get," he added.

"What price do we put on people's lives?"

The consultation runs until 5 January 2024, with drop-in sessions in The Courtyard in Goole on 12 October, Grimsby Town Hall on 16 October and The Pods in Scunthorpe on 20 October.