Lincolnshire NHS trust to stay in special measures

The Lincolnshire trust runs hospitals in Boston, Lincoln, Grantham and Louth

The trust that runs Lincolnshire's main hospitals will remain in special measures, inspectors have said.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has changed the rating of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust from "inadequate" to "requires improvement".

But it said while a number of improvements to patient care had been made the trust would benefit from further help.

Hospital bosses said the organisation was "moving in the right direction".

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The Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said: "During our inspection we found staff were caring and committed to helping patients.

"But we were disappointed to find that insufficient improvement had been made at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston since our last inspection in 2016."

He said urgent and emergency care at the hospital was of "significant concern", with the overall rating remaining "inadequate".

Inspectors said the trust must also take "immediate action to address the significant levels of violence and abuse experienced by staff" across the trust.

The CQC report praised staff at Pilgrim for arranging a wedding ceremony for a long-term patient on the stoke unit.

Significant challenges

The hospital's laundry staff also offered a free service to cancer patients to tailor bras to ensure they fitted women's specific measurements after breast surgery.

Staff across the trust were rated "good", which the trust said would provide reassurance for patients.

Trust chief executive Jan Sobieraj said: "This report shows... we are clearly moving in the right direction."

He said the trust had faced significant challenges in recent times but was working hard to overcome them.

The inspectors visited Lincoln County Hospital, Boston's Pilgrim Hospital, Louth's County Hospital, and Grantham and District Hospital between February and April.