Non-urgent appointments cancelled at Lincolnshire hospitals today

United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust which runs Lincoln, Grantham and Pilgrim Hospitals has announced in the last half hour that due to the heavy snow, it will be cancelling all non-urgent outpatient clinics and operations today

Mark Brassington, Chief Operating Officer, confirmed: “To protect the safety of our patients, today ULHT is unfortunately cancelling all non-urgent outpatient clinics and operations. Many of our staff haven’t been able to get into work due to heavy snow and we don’t want patients to risk their safety by travelling to one of our hospitals for a routine appointment.

“People who have an outpatient appointment at any of our hospitals today should not attend unless it is urgent which is for two week wait, radiotherapy, renal or oncology services. If you are unsure, please call the contact number on your letter for advice.

“People who have an operation scheduled are being contacted if their operation has been cancelled, but we are cancelling all operations that are not emergency surgery.

“To help cope, we are redeploying outpatient staff and non-clinical staff to wards and theatres. We are also using emergency 4x4 vehicles to help get key staff into work.

“Please stay safe and keep away from hospitals unless it is an emergency. To help ease pressures on A&Es, we urge everyone to think twice before they go to an A&E – if it’s not serious or life threatening, you shouldn’t be there. Call NHS 111 for advice.”

The Trust will publish further updates on Twitter @ULHT_News and Facebook @unitedlincolnshirehospitalsnhstrust.