Plans to move orthopaedic clinic to new diagnostic centre

NHS Trust chiefs have launched a six-week consultation exercise on their plans to move elective orthopaedic clinics out of Lincoln County Hospital.

The proposals United Teaching Hospitals Trust (ULTH) would see the clinics move two miles away off Tritton Road.

The orthopaedic clinics at Lincoln County Hospital provide follow-up care to elective and trauma orthopaedic patients who have experienced a fracture or other musculoskeletal condition.   

Its clinical team provide ongoing care and reviews, including arranging X-rays and other diagnostic tests, new plaster casts or splints, and wound care following surgery.   

These orthopaedic clinics are currently located in Clinic 11 at Lincoln County Hospital, offering services Monday to Friday.  

ULTH is seeking views from staff, patients and the public of Lincolnshire about where this service could be located in the future.   

The Trust is proposing to relocate the elective orthopaedic clinics from Clinic 11 out of the hospital and into a purpose-built modular extension located at the Lincoln Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) on Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, subject to a formal planning approval process. This is approximately two miles from its current location, within Lincoln city centre.  

The existing Lincoln CDC currently offers a wide range of NHS diagnostic services, including X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound and physiological testing such as ECGs and blood tests. The facility has free parking on site.   

The move would allow the space in Lincoln County Hospital to be freed up to allow the development and expansion of Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) services.   

Professor Rohit Rambani, Consultant and Orthopaedics Clinical Lead at ULTH, said: “We would like to hear from as many people as possible with their views on the potential change in location for this valued service.   

“The limitations to financial budgets and available space within our existing NHS estate means we must think creatively about how to deliver services within the local community, while ensuring they remain accessible and maintain the high clinical standards we expect.   

“This may mean considering alternative locations to those traditionally used, and developments away from our very busy hospital sites such as Lincoln CDC offer new opportunities to do this.”  

This public engagement exercise, which welcomes views via a survey, will run from to midnight on Wednesday 13 August.  

The survey can be completed by following this link

Picture above shows an artist’s impression of what the extension at Lincoln Community Diagnostic Centre could look like.