Not only have we embarked on a huge programme to invest in our facilities and focus on shifting care closer to Lincolnshire residents in their communities, but many of our colleagues were recognised for their innovation, hard work and dedication.
Working together as a Group across Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust and United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we have delivered improvements, innovations and patient-centred service transformation, in the community and in our hospitals.
We have treated more emergency patients than ever before in our Emergency Departments and Urgent Treatment Centres and reduced waiting times for planned care. By working together, we have got patients the care and treatment they need in the most appropriate clinical setting. However, we know there is more to do and during 2026 we will continue this great work.
Linked to this, I would like to highlight one of our biggest achievements. Last year, just weeks before Christmas, we opened our two new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in Lincoln and Skegness.
Since then, we have increased the number of patients seen in these brilliant facilities. In fact, since our first CDC opened in Grantham in 2022, we have carried out more than 250,000 diagnostic tests in these centres. These tests would previously have been conducted in our hospitals. Through this investment, not only are our patients able to get the scans and tests they need closer to home in state-of-the-art facilities, but it also releases capacity for patients needing emergency care in our hospitals.
We hope to extend this success by applying for planning permission to build a CDC in Boston, which if approved, will open in 2027. This, combined with the £47.5million programme to transform the Emergency Department at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, the building of a new £26.5m Endoscopy Unit at Lincoln County Hospital and the exciting digital programmes of work across our Group, are just some of the projects underway. By the end of this financial year, we will have invested almost £120million – the largest capital programme we have ever undertaken.
Many colleagues also had a successful year, being shortlisted and often winning regional and national awards. Our doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, healthcare support workers, porters, advance nurse practitioners and many other colleagues should be proud of the recognition they received for their hard work.
I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2026.
