The Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire met on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, to discuss a range of important health-related topics. Key among these were updates on the NHS Humber Health Partnership, an independent evaluation of Lincolnshire's Community Connectors and Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs, and the provision of Non-Emergency Patient Transport. The committee also reviewed its work programme to plan future discussions.

NHS Humber Health Partnership Update

The committee received an overview of the NHS Humber Health Partnership (HHP), which was established in August 2023. HHP brings together Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust to provide acute, specialist, and community services across the Humber region and into parts of Lincolnshire. The partnership aims to strengthen clinical services, build more resilient specialist teams, and ensure safe, high-quality care in response to workforce shortages and rising demand. Dr Nick Cross, Medical Director for the South Bank, and Andy Haywood, Chief Strategy, Partnerships and Digital Officer, were in attendance to present the report. The report highlighted that approximately one in six patients using Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust services come from Lincolnshire, predominantly from East Lindsey and West Lindsey. Significant investments have been made in new Emergency Departments and Community Diagnostic Centres, and changes to the delivery of some complex medical, urgent, and emergency care services have been approved to consolidate specialist inpatient services. The report also detailed challenges related to hospital flow, particularly delayed discharges, and emphasised the role of clinically led improvement within HHP.

Evaluation of Lincolnshire's Community Connectors and Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs

Victoria Sleight, Head of Partnerships and Health Inequalities at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust, and Sara Brine, Head of Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Transformation at NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, presented a summary of the independent evaluation of Lincolnshire's Community Connectors and Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs. This initiative, part of a national transformation programme for adult community mental health services, aims to provide integrated, proactive support within local communities. The evaluation, conducted by the Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre, found that for every £1 invested in the Community Connector and Hub model, there was a social return of £7.76. The report highlighted that the 15 Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs and their associated outreach projects have recorded over 107,000 attendances, with most participants attending weekly. These hubs offer safe, welcoming spaces for social connection, peer support, and access to a range of activities and advice, addressing issues such as loneliness, anxiety, and isolation. The evaluation also identified challenges, including accessibility in rural areas, a lack of private space in some hubs, volunteer recruitment and retention difficulties, and uncertainty over future funding. The committee was asked to note the report and support future work to maintain these services.

Non-Emergency Patient Transport

Joy Weldin, Head of Non-Emergency Patient Transport at East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS), and Tim Fowler, Assistant Director of Contracting and Performance at NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, provided an update on the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS). The contract for this service, which commenced in July 2023, covers call handling and patient journeys for eligible individuals. While patient satisfaction with the service is generally good and formal complaints are low, performance against internal Service Delivery Principles (SDPs) has not consistently met required levels, particularly for timely discharge journeys. This is attributed to short-notice bookings by hospitals and an increase in patients requiring two-person crew transport or stretcher-equipped vehicles. Aborted and cancelled journeys also present an inefficiency. EMAS has implemented actions, including the establishment of discharge co-ordinator posts, but a deep dive review is now programmed to address persistent issues with discharge performance and aborted/cancelled journeys. The Local Incentive Scheme (LIS) within the contract has seen EMAS meet two out of three elements, with penalties applied for non-achievement of unmitigated re-beds. The report also detailed journey activity volumes and the national eligibility criteria for NEPTS.

Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire - Work Programme

Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, presented the committee's work programme. The committee noted the confirmed items for forthcoming meetings, including discussions on the NHS Humber Health Partnership, the evaluation of Community Connectors and Mental Health Hubs, and Non-Emergency Patient Transport. Future agenda items were also outlined, such as planning for the impact of emergencies on the NHS, recommendations from the Director of Public Health's annual reports, neighbourhood health updates, and arrangements for Quality Accounts. The committee was invited to identify any items for inclusion or removal from the work programme. A member raised a question regarding the inclusion of statistics for caesarean births compared to natural births in the upcoming Maternity report. The committee agreed to the proposed work programme.