The interim service at Pilgrim Hospital Children’s Ward has begun.
A statement from United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) said: “Over the last few weeks the trust has been populating rotas and planning and testing care pathways for women and children who use Pilgrim Hospital, to ensure that when the new model was ready it will be safe for patients and their families.
After fears children’s services would cease at the hospital, a new plan was formed that the trust states will keep “98 per cent of current activity remaining at Pilgrim”.
These include consultant-led maternity unit, children’s day surgery, low-risk neonatal births and a 24-hour paediatric assessment and observation unit (PAU) on the ward.
The next focus will be on recruitment, as staffing shortages were the main cause of the problems.
The trust said its advice to all patients is to call 111, visit your GP or attend A&E if necessary and you’ll be assessed.
