BREAKING NEWS: Hospital trust ‘no longer in black alert’

A spokesman for the trust said it had ‘de-escalated’ to level three across all sites – including Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital – but added the situation will continue to be reviewed, especially with the cold weather.

They thanked staff for all the ‘hard work’ during the winter period which they said ‘is not over yet’.

They said: “We’ve been able to do this with the continued hard work of our staff and by working closely with partners in the community.

“It’s down to the hard work of everybody across Lincolnshire and the staff who have been going above and beyond.”

They said the trust would be keeping an eye on capacity and demand across all sites but ‘hopefully it will stay at the level’.

They added: “You can never predict what will happen.”

It is not yet clear what effect the decision will have on the Rochford Unit at Pilgrim Hospital, where elderly patients have been moved out to Grantham and Lincoln to help with the strain on services.