Lincoln County Hospital

Lincoln County Hospital is a large district general hospital on the eastern edge of north-east Lincoln, England. It is the largest hospital in Lincolnshire, and offers the most comprehensive services, in Lincolnshire. It is managed by the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Early history
The hospital has its origins in some rented accommodation in St Swithin's which opened in November 1769. A purpose-built facility was designed by John Carr and William Lumby and built in Drury Lane between 1776 and 1777.

Following issues with the nursing care, the Ladies' Nursing Fund Committee was established in 1864 to provide a better quality of nursing staff to the hospital. This arrangement only lasted for three years, but the Bromhead Institution for Nurses and the Bromhead Nursing Home became well established in Lincoln.

A new site was identified on Sewell Road and purchased in 1875. A new building, designed by Alexander Graham, was built on the new site and completed in 1878. The hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948.

Construction
Construction work, undertaken by Shepherd Building Group on a maternity unit commenced on site on 2 May 1966. It involved 112 beds, including 78 consultant beds, 26 general practitioner beds, and eight private patients beds. There was also a delivery suite. The unit had a special care unit with 21 cots on the sixth floor, and ante-natal clinic, and midwifery training school on the ground floor. The total cost was £800,000. The seven-storey maternity unit was opened by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon on 4 December 1968.

Construction of Phase One of the main hospital, undertaken by Shepherd Building Group, began at the end of July 1981. There were two main buildings, with 112 beds. Phase One cost £16.7m and involved four new operating theatres. Some 150 more staff were needed, with one hundred more nurses. At the time, it was difficult to find enough experienced theatre staff. It opened to the public in April 1985, after ward staff and theatre staff moved from St George's Hospital. Phase One was officially opened on 23 July 1985 by Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana had arrived at RAF Scampton in a Hawker Siddeley Andover, with two thousand people lining the route from Scampton.

Construction of Phase Two of the hospital, undertaken by Higgs and Hill Northern, started on 7 December 1989. It involved a series of surgical wards, six operating theatres, and a new A&E. There were 168 new acute beds. It was officially opened by Princess Anne on 15 September 1993.

Recent history
The Lincoln Hospitals' Radio Service, which first broadcast from St George's Hospital in December 1979, moved to Lincoln County Hospital in 1988. Its founder, Ray Drury, had been a cartoonist with the Daily Express.

In 2013 a review by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh found that there was a significant backlog of complaints and that there had been a noticeable increase in the ombudsman having to intervene to investigate complaints that had not been followed up. Accordingly Keogh found that the complaints handling system was not fit for purpose. The trust implemented a new complaints system in response.

Notable staff

 * Cassandra Maria Beachcroft (1839-1937), Matron (1884-1898). Beachcroft trained as a Lady Probationer at The London Hospital under Annie Swift and Eva Luckes between about 1879-1881. She worked as a ward sister at both The London and St Bartholomew's Hospital before her appointment. She resigned as matron of Lincoln County Hospital after 14 years tenure because of a disagreement with the house surgeon over her professional autonomy. She was an early member of the British Nurses' Association and also a vice Chairman of the Matron's Council.

Services
The University of Nottingham Medical School has approximately 330 nursing students and 30 midwifery students at its Lincoln Education Centre. Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire share the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance.