Updates from Group Board – Tuesday 1 September 2026
Dear colleague,
Welcome to this update from the Group Board for Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG). This Group is made up of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH). The Group Board operates as the joint board and decision-making body for both statutory organisations. This update is to inform colleagues and stakeholders about the discussions and decisions taken at Group and individual Trust level.
Our last Group Board meeting was on Tuesday 1 September and was open for the public to join virtually. The full Board meeting papers can be found on the Trust Board meetings page on the website.
Patient story: The Board heard a touching patient story that highlighted the importance of effective communication and information sharing between hospital and community services.
Incomplete information sharing during discharge of a palliative care patient caused delays for community teams. His needs were met, readmission was avoided and teams worked together to support his wish to spend meaningful time with his family, including a trip to Disneyland Paris.
Becoming one organisation: Last month, the Group announced its intention to bring our two NHS organisations (LCHS and ULTH) together to create a single organisation for Lincolnshire’s community and hospital services, subject to the necessary approvals. The organisation is now working on the development of a full business case for a formal merger.
The ambition is to build on the successful partnership working of the last two years and use a single organisation to reduce organisational boundaries, simplify services, strengthen digital integration and make better use of our resources. It is about going further and faster to deliver more integrated health service that can better meet the future needs of Lincolnshire’s population.
There will be extensive engagement with colleagues, patients, residents, partners and other stakeholders as this work progresses. Feedback will be used to help shape the future organisation and the way services are designed and delivered. This work also sits alongside our wider ambition to shift more care into community and neighbourhood settings, while ensuring our acute hospitals remain focused on the specialist care that patients need.
Patient Services Hub: As part of updates from the Board sub committees, members of the Board received an update on the significant modernisation programme to improve patient administration services, supporting the organisation’s commitment to delivering the best possible care and experience for patients and aligning with the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan. A key element of this programme is the Patient Services Hub, which was introduced in direct response to patient feedback. Since its implementation, improvements have been seen across a number of important areas. While the Board recognises that further progress is needed to achieve consistent improvements throughout all services, work is continuing with clinical and administrative teams to co-design and implement solutions. The Board was encouraged by the progress made so far and remains focused on delivering the full benefits of this transformation for patients and staff.
ULTH Electronic Patient Record (EPR): The Board continues to receive assurance that good progress is being made with the implementation of the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) at ULTH. Training is ongoing for colleagues on the new system, alongside practical support to enable the use of mobile technology at the patient bedside. The EPR is scheduled to go live across all adult and children’s inpatient wards, as well as Emergency Departments, on Tuesday 13 October. The Board recognised this as a significant and positive change in the way care is delivered across the acute trust, offering opportunities to improve efficiency, save time, and enhance patients’ access to and control over their healthcare, in line with the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Clinical Services Strategy: The Board considered our new Group Clinical Services Strategy for 2026–2030, which sets out how we will continue to transform care across Lincolnshire over the next five years. At its heart is a move towards more joined-up, proactive care, with more services delivered closer to home and through neighbourhoods, while our hospitals focus on specialist, complex and time-critical care. The strategy brings together urgent and emergency care, acute and specialist services, and integrated out-of-hospital care, with a strong focus on prevention, digital innovation, quality and reducing health inequalities. Importantly, it has been shaped through engagement with patients, staff and partners, and will continue to be developed with them as detailed pathways and models of care are designed.
Performance
There has been encouraging progress in urgent and emergency care, with the Group exiting national UEC Tier 2 oversight following sustained improvements. In June, A&E four-hour performance was 80.87% against a 78% target, despite attendances increasing by almost 9% compared with the same period last year.
Cancer and diagnostics also remain key areas of focus. 28-day Faster Diagnosis performance improved from 61.7% in May to 74.72% in June, while the number of patients waiting more than 104 days fell from 135 to 123. There is still work to do on the 62-day standard, with tumour-site reviews and recovery plans in place. Diagnostics waiting times in June declined to 43.41% from 44% in May 2026 against a target of 99%. The Board heard about the main areas of challenge and the recovery plans in place.
Risk register deep dive
The Board also received an update on the Group’s risk register, including a deep dive into risks that are currently sitting outside of accepted levels. The review provided additional assurance that these risks are being actively monitored and that appropriate controls and actions are in place. The Risk Register Confirm and Challenge Group continues to meet monthly to review the highest risks and ensure action is being taken to reduce them.
Good news:
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CQC inspection – end-of-life care at Grantham and District Hospital – The Board heard that the CQC has rated end-of-life care at Grantham and District Hospital as Good overall following an inspection in March 2026, with the Caring domain rated Outstanding, an improvement from the previous rating of Good. The assessment recognised the compassionate, dignified and person-centred care provided to patients and their families, including how staff supported people’s individual needs and wishes.
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Palliative care recognised nationally – Our palliative care teams have also received national recognition for their outstanding work reflecting the quality and compassion being delivered to patients and families across Lincolnshire.
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New endoscopy unit – We have continued to invest in modern healthcare facilities, including the opening of our new £26.5 million endoscopy unit at Lincoln County Hospital in July. The new facility will increase diagnostic capacity, support earlier diagnosis and treatment, and provide an improved environment for both patients and colleagues.
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Supporting people living with dementia – Forget-me-not wristbands have now been introduced across urgent and emergency care settings to help identify and better support patients living with dementia, memory loss or confusion. The initiative is designed to support more personalised care and improve communication with families.
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Group Staff Awards – The Board heard that our annual staff awards have attracted almost 950 nominations this year, providing a powerful reminder of the breadth of talent and commitment across our hospitals and community services.
Staff updates:
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WRES and WDES – The Board also considered our latest Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) reports and action plans. The reports show progress in areas including workforce representation and access to leadership opportunities, while also highlighting where inequalities remain, particularly around recruitment, career progression, bullying, harassment and discrimination. Our action plans have been developed with our staff networks and set out the further work we will take forward to improve the experience of colleagues.
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Lord Mann Review – The Board received an update on the Lord Mann Review, which looked at racism, antisemitism and discrimination across the NHS. LCHG has met the immediate national requirements, including formally adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism and the Government’s definition of anti-Muslim hostility, and has a structured programme in place to take forward the wider recommendations. This includes strengthening leadership accountability, improving workforce data and support for colleagues experiencing discrimination, refreshing anti-racism training and working with our staff networks.
Maternity 10-point plan: The Board heard that a baseline benchmarking assessment had been completed against the requirements of NHS England’s 10 Point Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services. The assessment identified a number of areas of strong performance including executive oversight through the Maternity and Neonatal Oversight Group (MNOG), the principles of Martha’s Rule, multidisciplinary engagement through the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme, and a comprehensive maternity triage improvement programme. The assessment also highlighted a number of areas requiring further development and robust governance arrangements are in place to oversee delivery.
Finance and performance updates: We continue to operate in a challenging financial environment, while maintaining our focus on delivering safe, high-quality services. At month four, the Group reported a £7.4 million year-to-date deficit, which was £0.2 million better than plan. The organisation remains on track against its year-end position, but this depends on recovering activity levels, delivering our efficiency programme and maintaining control over workforce expenditure.
If you have any feedback on the discussions at Group Board, please email [email protected]
Kind regards
Rebecca Brown
Group Chair
Professor Karen Dunderdale
Group Chief Executive