Who we are and what we do

We are Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), the primary community healthcare provider in Lincolnshire delivering community-based services aimed at supporting people to manage their own health at home and reducing the need for people to go into hospital.

We care for thousands of patients every day, in partnership with other health and social care services, to deliver joined-up care in community settings. The intention is to provide good out of hospital care and avoid admissions into acute hospitals.

By providing community-based services aimed at preventing health problems from getting worse, we help to reduce the need for people to go into hospital. The trust works closely with other health and social care services to support a shift from care in acute hospitals, into more joined-up care in the community, close to home.

The NHS England Five Year Forward View outlines the NHS commitment to improving efficiency and access to services. There is a greater emphasis on the public taking responsibility for their health and wellbeing, particularly obesity, smoking and alcohol related illness. The NHS, both nationally and locally, has been tasked with taking decisive steps to break down the barriers in how care is provided between family doctors and hospitals, between physical and mental health, between health and social care.

The Lincolnshire healthcare community has been working together on a ‘whole system’ approach to delivering healthcare in the county, working under the title of the Lincolnshire NHS.

The vision for the Lincolnshire health and care programme is for a significant shift from acute hospital care towards community care. LCHS is central to delivering this vision with its combination of community hospitals, urgent care services and community based teams comprised of; community nursing, therapy, reablement, palliative care, public health and children’s health and social care services; all delivering great care, close to home.

Along with 43 other areas in England, healthcare commissioning and provider organisations in Lincolnshire have collaborated during 2016/17 to draw up a sustainability and transformation plan (STP) for Lincolnshire which was submitted to NHS England in December 2016.

The Lincolnshire STP details the changes required to enable the Lincolnshire healthcare system to develop and deliver upon its plan. The shift from single organisational priorities to a whole system approach has led to the development of a new governance system, outlined below.

  • Lincolnshire coordinating board bringing together the chairs of all organisations to bring oversight to the system
  • System executive team all Chief Executives and officers working together with senior local authority leaders and the local medical committee
  • STP programme board senior directors from all organisations leading across boundaries
  • Programme management office to support delivery and manage accountability.

LCHS remains at the forefront of the whole system approach. The Lincolnshire coordinating board is chaired by Elaine Baylis, Chair of LCHS and the system executive team is chaired by ULHT Chief Executive, Andrew Morgan. Both the STP programme board and the programme management office have a high level of participation from LCHS staff.

Click here to go to the Lincolnshire NHS website

Date Last Modified 22/01/2024