United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust bids for £40m fire safety cash

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust said it has a shortfall in its estates budget

The trust which runs hospitals in Lincolnshire has applied for £40m of government funding after two fire enforcement notices were issued.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust said the money was needed urgently to comply with recommendations, and to ensure patient safety.

It said it has been forced to apply for extra funding due to a shortfall in its estates and facilities budget.

It comes after recent fires at hospitals in Lincoln and Boston.

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Department director Paul Boocock said: "We take the safety of our patients and staff very seriously and have been working closely with the fire service for some time to upgrade our current systems."

A recent report identified the need for "additional steps" to be taken and found a number of recent fires were associated with ageing electrical equipment.

Mr Boocock said: "Over the last few years we have invested more than £20m improving the safety of our buildings... But the reality is many of our hospital buildings are old and have not received sufficient investment for many years."

He said the additional funding of £40.6m was needed to comply with the requirements of the enforcement notices.

It covers the period from 2017/18 to 2020/21.