United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS trust which runs County Hospital Louth, Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Skegness and District Hospital, and Grantham and District Hospital.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Type	NHS trust
Established	28 February 2000
Headquarters	Greetwell Road Lincoln LN2 5QY^[1]
Hospitals	County Hospital Louth Grantham and District Hospital Lincoln County Hospital Pilgrim Hospital
Staff	6,544 (2018/19)^[2]
Website	www.ulh.nhs.uk

The trust established the Path Links Pathology Service jointly with Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2001.^[3]

History

The trust was established on 28 February 2000, and became operational on 1 April 2000.^[4]

Performance

In July 2012 the Trust chairman, David Bowles was forced to resign after being threatened with suspension for refusing to commit the Trust to meeting national waiting targets. The Trust was exceeding targets for emergency treatment.^[5]

In October 2013 as a result of the Keogh Review the Trust was put into the highest risk category by the Care Quality Commission and put in special measures.^[6]

In December 2013 the Trust was one of thirteen hospital trusts named by Dr Foster Intelligence as having higher than expected higher mortality indicator scores for the period April 2012 to March 2013 in their Hospital Guide 2013.^[7] It was put into a buddying arrangement with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.^[8]

The Trust predicted a deficit of £16.7m in 2013–14.^[9] In February 2016 it was expecting a deficit of £57.8 million for the year 2015/6.^[10]

The trust was one of 26 responsible for half of the national growth in patients waiting more than four hours in accident and emergency over the 2014/5 winter.^[11]

 

Four-hour target in the emergency department quarterly figures from NHS England Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

In December 2018 it had the highest number of ambulances delayed by more than 30 minutes of any trust in England.^[12] In 2017-18 only 75.1% of A&E patients were seen within four hours.^[13]

Between January and March 2018 864 operations at the trust were cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons - the highest number of any NHS trust.^[14] In October 2018 it predicted that it would spend £32 million on agency staff in the financial year 2018/9 because of difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff, particularly middle grade doctors.^[15] It actually spent £37 million.^[16]

In 2020 the emergency department at Grantham and District Hospital was temporarily closed. In April 2021 a judicial review at the High Court ruled that the trust did not consult properly on their plans for a 'green site' there, because they thought there would be too much resistance to it. Local campaigners were incensed.^[17]

A survey of almost 50,000 patients by the Care Quality Commission in 2021 found the emergency department rated least favourably of all those in England.^[18]

Development

The trust was one of the beneficiaries of Boris Johnson's announcement of capital funding for the NHS in August 2019, with an allocation of £21.3 million for new urgent and emergency care zones in Boston accident and emergency.^[19]

See also

• List of NHS trusts

References

1. "Contact details - United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust". Care Quality Commission. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
2. "Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2019" (PDF). United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
3. "The impact of pathology reorganisation". Health Service Journal. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
4. "The United Lincolnshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 2000". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
5. Laura Donnelly (25 July 2009). "Hospital chairman quits over dangerous targets". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
6. "NHS Trusts put in risk categories - full list". Independent. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
7. "Dr Foster identifies 13 trusts with high mortality ratios". Health Service Journal. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
8. "'Buddy' trusts could double their money under bonus scheme". Health Service Journal. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
9. "More than a third of trusts predict year-end deficit". Local Government Chronicle. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
10. "One in four trusts plunge deeper into the red". Health Service Journal. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
11. "26 trusts responsible for half of national A&E target breach". Health Service Journal. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
12. "Performance Watch: Ambulance handover delay hotspots revealed". Health Service Journal. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
13. The 10 worst A&Es for waits revealed BBC
14. "Last minute cancelled operations hits highest rate since 2005". Health Service Journal. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
15. "Trust forecasts £32m agency staff spend". Health Service Journal. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
16. "Special measures trust to ban GMC concern medics". Health Service Journal. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
17. "Grantham A&E plan should be made public now, campaigner says". Lincolnshire Live. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
18. "Major survey reveals 'best and worst' A&Es for patient satisfaction". Health Service Journal. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
19. "Revealed: The 20 capital projects promised by the PM". Health Service Journal. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.

External links

• Official website  
• CQC inspection reports