Judicial review threats over Scunthorpe hospital changes plan

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

A council has threatened to apply for a judicial review over proposed changes at Scunthorpe General Hospital.

Under the plans, a trauma unit and out-of-hours emergency overnight surgery would be moved to Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby.

The NHS said it would allow for improvements in the quality of care in northern Lincolnshire.

But councillors voted unanimously to oppose the move at a North Lincolnshire Council meeting on Friday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the authority said it "raised the prospect of launching a judicial review if local people's views are not given the weight they deserve".

A public consultation launched at the end of September by the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which cited staffing shortages as the key reason behind the proposals.

Conservative and Labour councillors both condemned the proposals in a motion as "a major downgrading of Scunthorpe General Hospital".

The motion, agreed by the council, stated: "Transferring services to Grimsby would mean that patients and visitors would face additional transport costs which is an unnecessary barrier to accessing important health services."

The motion also stated how the authority would "defend robustly the health needs of our children, families and older and disabled residents to protect our NHS services in Scunthorpe".

"The council reserves the right to apply for a full judicial review should the outcome of the consultation and the resulting recommendations not be in the best interests of North Lincolnshire residents," it said.

Council leader Rob Waltham said the plans were "clearly about saving money rather than what is best for local people".

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

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the consultation has been branded as "woeful" by Mr Waltham.

Labour group leader Councillor Len Foster suggested if the proposals were approved, it would be the start of a process of "death by a thousand cuts".

He also said local NHS boss responses at briefings were "dreadful". 

"Nevertheless, we need to ensure that this is not the beginning of the end," he said.

An NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB spokesperson said: "We believe the changes we are putting forward will improve the quality of urgent and emergency care, trauma, and inpatient paediatric care for people in northern Lincolnshire and ensure patients have access to the most highly skilled professionals when needed, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"These proposed changes will not impact on the majority of people who require urgent and emergency care, general medical or care of the elderly, who would still be treated at their local hospital."

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.