What is this public consultation about?​

‘Public consultation’ in the NHS is a formal opportunity for us to find out the views of the public.

The NHS belongs to us all. It is undoubtedly one of the most important and treasured institutions in our country.

In Lincolnshire, the NHS serves a population of almost 800,000 people, 15,000 of whom use it every day. Over 14,000 people work in our NHS in the county.

We are rightly proud of many things about our local NHS. The efforts and dedication of staff throughout the coronavirus pandemic have been widely praised, and our standards of care and delivery in many areas are often outstanding. However, in some services we have problems to resolve in order to ensure that we can provide the highest quality of patient care possible to the people of Lincolnshire. This will require changes to some of the health services we provide.

This website explains the review process undertaken so far of four NHS services provided by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT). It also describes the challenges these services face and how they might change in the future to deliver some of that much needed improvement. Most importantly, it asks for your views on the proposed changes. The four NHS services are:

• Orthopaedic surgery across Lincolnshire
• Urgent and emergency care at Grantham and District Hospital
• Acute medical beds at Grantham and District Hospital
• Stroke services across Lincolnshire

We welcome your views on these services as they will help us in our decision making process. Please complete the questionnaire and tell us what you think about the proposed changes.