Andrew Morgan: How we’re revamping Lincolnshire’s hospitals

By Andrew Morgan CEO of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust

If you have visited any of our hospitals in Lincoln, Boston or Grantham recently, you may have seen lots of construction work taking place.

We are undertaking some major programmes of work that really are going to transform environments for patients and for colleagues. It is a very exciting time and I wanted to share the great news.

At Grantham and District Hospital, we are progressing with our plans for two new state-of-the-art operating theatres as part of a multi-million-pound investment in services.

Andrew Morgan, Chief Executive at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. | Photo: ULHT

The two modular theatres, along with their associated preparation rooms, utility facilities and a six-bed recovery ward with an ultraclean ventilation system, will create additional theatre capacity for those in need of surgery in Lincolnshire. This exciting project represents a £5.3m investment in surgery services.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our Grantham teams have been pivotal in helping to ensure patients have been able to continue to access potentially life-saving procedures and once these new theatres are in place, it will increase our available theatre capacity from four theatres to six on the site.

At Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, we are finalising our plans to transform the emergency department.
Since the Prime Minister’s visit in 2019 and the provision of funding towards the cost of a new Emergency Department, lots of work has been taking place behind the scenes to finalise a design that not only meets the needs of patients and staff now, but also in the future. This will see the hospital’s Emergency Department:

• More than double in size
• Include state of the art innovations and infection prevention control measures
• Have a much bigger resuscitation zone for the sickest patients
• Have more cubicles in which to treat patients
• Have a separate area dedicated to providing emergency care for the hospital’s youngest patients and their families
• Have more training rooms for staff
• Have a much better environment for patients and staff

Work is currently underway to repurpose the four-storey building to the left of the main hospital so that it can be used for additional clinical and office space. Once completed, this will then allow the trust to clear and demolish the necessary areas adjacent to the existing Emergency Department next year, so that it can then be extended and transformed.

Work is also well underway on the latest phase of the emergency department transformation at Lincoln County Hospital. This will create a resuscitation area with twice as many cubicles for the sickest emergency patients.

Additional works will include:

• The creation of a new paediatrics area with its own dedicated waiting room, treatment cubicles and a sensory area for the youngest patients and their families
• Additional treatment rooms for mental health patients
• Additional clinical space, meaning that the emergency department will be able to accept patients from ambulance crews with improved speed and safety

As you can see there is a lot going on. I would personally like to thank everyone involved in helping us to come up with the final designs for all of these projects. The input from community groups, patients, partner organisations and staff really has been invaluable and we could not have done any of this without your support. My final request is that you please bear with us during the works. We will try to keep any disruption to a minimum and do appreciate your ongoing understanding and co-operation.

Andrew Morgan is the chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and the former CEO of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.