A hospital campaigner has quizzed health chiefs about the prospect of a new hospital being built in Grantham or elsewhere in southern Lincolnshire.

Jody Clark, co-founder of Fighting4Grantham Hospital raised the issue at a recent board meeting of the NHS Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The campaigner noted central government has plans to build new hospitals and quizzed the CCG as to what representations it had made to get a new hospital in Grantham, or the south of the county, and if not, why not?

Minutes from the meeting, which are due to be approved at the August meeting of the CCG tomorrow, reveal that such a scheme is unlikely to be a priority for the CCG in the near future.

Andrew Turner, chief executive of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals trust, which runs Grantham and other hospitals in the county, said in response to the question, that firstly firstly "no representations have been made by the CCG or anyone else in the NHS in Lincolnshire in relation to a new hospital in Grantham."

The draft minutes said: "Any new NHS premises require capital monies and it was correct that more capital resources have been made available through the new hospital schemes (of which there are about 40).

"All of those have been worked up in very significant detail with partners and NHSE over a number of years, including Leicester Royal and have been subject to detailed scrutiny."

The draft minutes continued: "Lincolnshire has been successful in attracting more capital into the county over the couple of years in relation to the development of A&E services at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, Urgent Treatment Centre at Lincoln and for LPFT to eradicate Nightingale wards.

"There were also numerous capital schemes in primary care and other priorities in the system."

They added: "The current priority in addition to trying to see through the pandemic was the Acute Services Review, which will be going out to public consultation in the next few months.

"In summary, there has been no consideration or detailed discussions at CCG or ULHT level regarding a new hospital in Grantham and Mr Turner did not anticipate this was something which be given priority consideration to in the immediate future."

However, as Nub News has previously reported, there is much support for a new-build hospital locally and such an idea "may not seem so far fetched after all."

As Nub News reported today, the CCG is staging another board meeting tomorrow, which can be viewed online, with people able to submit questions.