The NHS trust which runs Lincolnshire’s hospitals says waits are reducing after being ranked 170th out of 188 trusts in England, reports Laycie Beck of Lincolnshire Live.
The United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Lincoln County Hospital, County Hospital Louth, Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, and Grantham and District Hospital, came 170th out of England’s 188 trusts when measured on waiting times of more than four hours.
Looking at statistics for the trust, the data shows 60.4 per cent of A&E attendances were seen within four hours in December 2024. This is below the 71.1 per cent average for all types of A&Es across England and the NHS target of 76 per cent.
The Trust says that these wait times apply to Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital, Boston and Grantham and District Hospital. Meanwhile, 1049 patients spent more than 12 hours waiting from decision to admit to admission.
A trust spokesperson said: “We are working with NHS partners to reduce the time patients are waiting for treatment in Lincolnshire. This includes those who are referred to our hospitals by their GP on a non-urgent pathway.
“The amount of time these patients are waiting is reducing, but we appreciate any wait can be a stressful time. That is why work continues across the county to make sure patients are seen as soon as possible.” The representative added that new multi-million investments in community diagnostic centres in Grantham, Skegness and Lincoln, which can provide tests without a hospital visit, would speed up treatment.
Data showed the waiting list across all treatment types reached 70,933 across all hospitals within the United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in November 2024. Of these, 33,592 had been waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.
A total of 52.6 per cent of patients had been on the waiting list fewer than 18 weeks, which is lower than the England average at 62.5 per cent and far below the NHS target of 92 per cent. While the average wait time was 16.64 weeks, 1,944 patients had been waiting over a year for treatments at the trust.
Meanwhile the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which focuses on services for mental health and learning disabilities, had significantly lower waiting lists. In November 2024 only 45 people were on the waiting list and all of these had been on the list for under 18 weeks.
Nick Harwood, director of operations for adult community services at the trust, said: “We are really pleased to see the data reflecting the hard work we have been doing to ensure patients do not wait too long to start treatment with the Trust.
“We continue to work on the national community mental health programme with focus on improved access, outcomes and experience.”
On Monday, January 6, Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled his plans to reduce waiting lists. Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, recently said that “despite the best efforts of staff, patients are still receiving unacceptable standards of care”.
He added: “Although this winter’s campaign vaccinated more people than last winter, this strain of flu has hit hard, putting more than three times as many patients into hospital compared to this time last year. Annual winter pressures should not mean an annual winter crisis, which is why this government is making significant investment in the NHS, undertaking fundamental reform, and acting now to improve social care.
“It will take time to turn the NHS around, but the fact that waiting lists are now falling shows that change is possible.”
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