Lincolnshire NHS trust misses all targets so far in 2018

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, which runs hospitals in Lincoln, Grantham and Boston failed to meet targets for cancer care, accident and emergency and planned operations.

ULHT missed its A&E target for admitting or treating a patient in four hours by more than 25%, with the national target set at 95%.

Meanwhile, 76.9% of patients began cancer treatment with ULHT within 62 days of an urgent GP referral, which is 9% off target.

The trust also missed its target of 92% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks for a planned operation or non-emergency treatment by more than 5%.

ULHT has not hit its targets for both A&E and cancer care since September 2014.

The last time the trust met its target for planned operations was June 2016.

Mark Brassington, ULHT Chief Operating Officer, said: “Over the last year we have seen a significant increase in pressure on all of our hospitals. We have experienced increased demand in our emergency departments resulting in our inability to see, treat and admit patients as quickly as we would like.

“We would like to thank our staff for all of their hard work and ask for the support of our support. If people come to A&E and it is not an emergency they will have a long wait as we will prioritise the sickest patients.

“We have nine cancer targets to achieve, and in recent months our performance against all of these has improved and continues to do so.

“The trust is driving improvements to the experiences of our cancer patients, or those patients with suspected cancer, via delivering the trust’s cancer action plan. This includes revising cancer pathways with an additional investment of £250,000 and creating additional diagnostic capacity.”