A ground-breaking partnership between the NHS in Lincolnshire and DMC Healthcare has won two national awards. The recognition came at the 2025 HSJ Independent Healthcare Providers Awards and the HSJ Partnership Awards.
The winning team includes NHS Lincolnshire ICB, United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the Lincolnshire Elective Activity Coordination Hub, and DMC Healthcare. Together, they tackled long dermatology waiting lists after the COVID-19 pandemic.
HSJ Awards Recognise Waiting List Recovery
The group won Best Elective Care Recovery Initiative for cutting dermatology waiting times. At one point, almost 10,500 patients were waiting. Some faced delays of more than 100 weeks. The team reduced this to just 24 weeks.
They also took home Best Insourcing Initiative by an Independent Healthcare Provider. DMC Healthcare worked with the centralised Coordination Hub to validate the full waiting list. They supported nearly 3,000 patients from assessment through to discharge.
A National Success Story
This year’s HSJ awards received 217 entries across 28 categories. The ceremony celebrated commitment and innovation in patient care.
Clair Raybould, Executive Director for System Delivery at NHS Lincolnshire ICB, said:
“To win two HSJ awards is a huge achievement. It shows the strength of our work with DMC Healthcare. Our teams worked hard to deliver these results. We always look for ways to improve services. These awards show we’re making real progress. Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved.”
Laura Odlin, Dermatology Clinical Service Manager at United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“I’m very proud of the team. They’ve worked so hard with our partners to improve waiting times and patient care. It’s fantastic to be recognised on a national level.”
Anil Gupta, Group Managing Director at DMC Healthcare, added:
“We’re thrilled to receive both awards. This shows the power of true partnership. We share a strong focus on patient care. I want to thank our NHS Lincolnshire ICB and United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals partners. Their trust and dedication made this possible. A big thank you as well to our DMC teams. They worked side-by-side with Lincolnshire colleagues. This is a win for all of us—and most importantly, for the patients.”