Health chiefs announced a successful year with waiting times slashed, superbug infections down and a £13.8million deficit reversed over the previous year.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust turned its budget around, announcing a financial surplus of £1.5million for 2007/08, boosted to £12.5million in total following an £11million cash injection from Lincolnshire PCT.
It is the first time the trust has achieved its planned £1.5million surplus without financial support.
Trust chief executive Gary Walker said: "In the last year we achieved more improvements than at any other time in our history.
"We created a clinically-led organisation, employed more staff, earned more income, bought more equipment, tackled quality and safety as a priority and improved our overall efficiency."
Over the past year Clostridium difficile infections have fallen by 41 per cent and MRSA by 37 per cent.
Waiting times have fallen too, with 96 per cent of patients treated within 18 weeks of referral, while waiting times for diagnostic tests, such as MRI and CT scans, fell from around 20 weeks in January 2007 to under four weeks by December last year.
In addition A and E waiting times fell, with the trust achieving the national target of 98 per cent of patients seen, treated and either admitted or discharged within four hours.
Trust chairman David Bowles said: "Every one of our 7,000 staff, in every service, contributed to turning this organisation around.
"Just about every aspect of the hundreds of services we provide across Lincolnshire have shown improvements and we would like to thank our staff for their efforts."
Despite this, the trust has significant debts accumulated from overspending in previous years, including through providing services without paying for them and through inefficiencies.
However, the extra £11million provided by Lincolnshire PCT was in recognition of the trust's recent performance and improvements in efficiency and productivity.
Mr Walker said: "It has been a good year for the trust, but there are always areas in which we can improve and I would welcome input from the public about what we can do to improve services for them."
He can be e-mailed direct with comments at gary.walker@ulh.nhs.uk
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Write to the editor or e-mail nick.woodhead@jpress.co.ukThe full article contains 388 words and appears in Lincolnshire Free Press newspaper.
