Lincolnshire patients face choice of NHS hospitals that all ‘require improvement’

Our patients are suffering from a choice of poorly performing hospitals with a patient watchdog saying the state of our emergency care should be a ‘call to arms’.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust — which runs the Boston and Lincoln hospitals — Peterborough City Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn along with the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham all have an overall ‘requires improvement’ rating from the Care Quality Commission, meaning patients are unlikely to get care from a ‘good’ facility.

Now Healthwatch Lincolnshire is now calling on the authorities to implement a system wide approach to improve A&E and GPs access — and invest in staffing and facilities in order to ‘rebuild trust’ with patients in the county.

The organisation — which champions the views of patients in health and social care — feel that these ratings are a symptom of staff shortages, long waits for patients and delayed discharges.

But these problems are nothing new as hospitals have been facing these challenges for many years — long before the pandemic made our already creaking system worse.

Issues with social care also play a role — and can put pressure on hospitals if they are unable to safely discharge patients.

Healthwatch Lincolnshire spokesperson Dean Odell said: “Local people consistently tell us how much they value and rely on the NHS, but we also hear growing concerns about the pressures that NHS services are under – particularly in emergency care.

“It’s concerning that the A&E departments at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital, as well as Peterborough City Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, have all been rated as ‘requires improvement’.

“For many Lincolnshire residents – especially those living near our county’s borders – the Peterborough and King’s Lynn hospitals are not just alternatives but their primary point of access in an emergency.

“While we recognise the commitment and efforts of frontline staff, these ratings highlight wider, ongoing challenges that include staffing shortages, long waits for patients, delayed discharges, and difficulties in accessing care across the whole system.

“Improvements need to happen not just within Lincolnshire, but also across the neighbouring hospital trusts and services that our residents regularly depend on. Health and care systems must work together more effectively to deliver safe, consistent and accessible care, wherever patients are seen.

“We believe a whole-system approach is essential, spanning A&E, social care, GP access, mental health and community support. Investment in staff, facilities and communication, alongside meaningful involvement of patients and communities, is needed to rebuild trust and improve outcomes.

“We urge decision-makers to treat these ratings as a call to action and ensure that the voices of local people are central to shaping improvements.”

Last week, it was announced that CQC inspectors had told Peterborough City Hospital to improve it’s A&E after an unannounced visit found some people waiting more than 12 hours for treatment and staff shortages were having a negative effect on young people’s care.

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, which runs the Johnson Community Hospital in Pinchbeck, is ranked as outstanding by the CQC.

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH) now work together in a group and are known as Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG)

Caroline Landon, Group Chief Operating Officer at Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals Group said: “We work closely with our partners to improve timely access to patient care in the right place, and we recently came together win a Group arrangement with Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust with the goal of improving care provided in both the community and hospitals across Lincolnshire.

“In recent months, we have made huge progress to our emergency care pathways in our hospitals with 78% of people attending A&E being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, and our ambulance handover times being one of the most improved in the country.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to further improve and sustain this significant change.”