Ashley Partridge

The number of day patients that can be seen at Lincoln County Hospital is set to double when a new unit opens in September.

The Surgical Day Unit will be used exclusively for people who can be treated and go home on the same day. It is expected that only 1% of cases will require an overnight stay.

Two operating theatres will be used, so other services around the hospital can be dedicated to emergency or planned care. The unit will be open on weekdays, with schedules split into morning and afternoon sessions.

Up to 24 trolley spaces will be made, which will be able to move around different bays and rooms. These will all be single-sex areas.

Surgical Day Unit manager Sandra Hayes said: “Lincoln County Hospital currently sees about 350 day case patients each month and this figure could be more than doubled when we have the dedicated Surgical Day Unit in place.”

Around £1 million is being spent by the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust on a range of improvements.

Most of the developments will take place in the Maternity building, where the new surgery unit will be located. X-ray facilities, a new patient drop-off point and more theatres will also be added.

Efforts are also being made to ensure that better care is provided and medical staff keep people informed of what is going on.

Hayes added: “We will discuss the patient’s expectations before, during and after the surgery to ensure that they can be discharged safely and know who to contact once discharged.”

Lincolnshire Police said that arrests have been made in a fraud investigation involving a local NHS trust.

The Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) said it had been the victim of fraud.

“This incident remains subject to an ongoing police investigation and therefore we are unable to provide any further information at this time,” the trust said in a statement.

On September 9 2011, Lincolnshire Police was told that the LPFT had allegedly been scammed.

Members of the force’s Economic Crime Unit then began working with NHS Protect, a team that tackles fraud.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “The investigation has progressed significantly and arrests have been made. However, enquiries are continuing.”

The exact details of the crime and how much money has been lost, are not known. However, the force said it is a case of mandate fraud.

This occurs when an organisation is contacted by someone pretending to be one of their suppliers and tells them to change the accounts they pay money into.

Funds then go into the fake account and the real business is left out-of-pocket.