A service which offers patients, families and carers 24-hour access to a rapid review if they have concerns about a person’s deteriorating condition will soon expand to include Lincolnshire’s community hospitals.
Call for Concern gives anyone worried about a loved one deteriorating while staying on an inpatient ward direct contact to an independent clinician for urgent help and advice.
Lincolnshire’s four community hospitals will be among the first wave of community-based NHS services nationally to introduce the rapid review service, which was initially piloted in larger, acute hospitals.
The Call for Concern service will be available for patients staying on inpatient wards at John Coupland Hospital, Gainsborough, County Hospital, Louth, Skegness Hospital and Johnson Community Hospital in Spalding from Monday 23 March 2026.
Nerea Odongo, Group Chief Nurse for Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group, said: “We are pleased to be able to launch the Call for Concern service in four more hospitals in our Group, offering patients and their families and carers another way to further escalate any concerns they may have about deteriorating health.
“We know that a person’s loved ones know them best and may be among the first to recognise even the smallest changes in their health. We welcome and encourage patients and their families to speak to our ward teams openly about any aspect of their care. The Call for Concern service is here to build on the safeguards already in place in our hospitals, ensuring a rapid review is available should a patient and their loved ones feel it is needed.”
Martha Mills died in 2021 after developing sepsis in hospital in London, where she had been admitted with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike. Martha’s family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to, and in 2023 a coroner ruled that Martha would probably have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier.
In response to this and other cases related to the management of deterioration, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England committed to implement ‘Martha’s Rule’ in the NHS nationally; to ensure the vitally important concerns of the patient and those who know the patient best are listened to and acted upon.
The Call for Concern service was first launched in Lincolnshire at Lincoln County Hospital in December 2024, followed by Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, in February 2025.
The service can be accessed by using the dedicated Call for Concern telephone number for the relevant hospital site:
- Community hospitals (Gainsborough, Louth, Skegness, Spalding): 0300 123 4868 – (option 5)
- Lincoln County Hospital: 07393 009049
- Pilgrim Hospital, Boston: 07761 053863
Those with concerns should use Call for Concern when there is a significant change in a patient’s condition and, after discussion with the ward team, they feel their concerns have not been addressed or it is still not clear what the plan is for the patient.
The free and confidential Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) also remains available for those needing help with general questions and advice about hospital services. This includes issues about a hospital stay such as about general patient care, appointments, food and parking.
Contact the PALS teams:
- Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust PALS (community hospitals): LHNT.LincsPALS@nhs.net or 0300 123 9553
- United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust PALS (Boston and Lincoln): ulth.pals@nhs.net or 01522 707071 or 01205 446243
It is hoped the service will expand again to include Grantham and District Hospital during 2026.
