Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating after its Elective Surgical Hub at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital became one of the first in England to achieve national reaccreditation through the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Elective Hub Accreditation Programme.
The Trust was the first Surgical Hub in the country to receive GIRFT accreditation when the programme was introduced and is now among only four elective hubs nationally to have achieved reaccreditation, recognising the high standards of care, leadership and innovation being delivered for patients requiring planned surgery.
The reaccreditation was confirmed following a national review process, including a site visit in June 2026, with assessors praising the quality of patient care, strong leadership, collaborative working and the team's commitment to continuous improvement.
The review highlighted several areas of excellence across the hub, including its positive culture, engaged workforce and significant investment to increase elective capacity. Assessors also recognised improvements in day-case surgery performance, which has increased from 77.1% to 83.1%, alongside strong performance in theatre utilisation and ongoing service innovation.
Particular praise was given to the Trust's elective paediatric surgery programme, which was highlighted as a successful example of collaborative working and service excellence. The review also recognised strong working relationships between teams at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital, helping to deliver safe and efficient elective care across the organisation.
The assessment team noted the hub's dedicated workforce, robust staff development programmes, strong clinical governance arrangements and established robotic surgery capability across Colorectal, Upper GI, Urology and Gynaecology services.
The Surgical Hub brings together a range of specialties, including gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, general surgery and urology, enabling patients to receive planned treatment within a dedicated elective environment designed to minimise disruption and improve patient outcomes.
The review also recognised how national capital investment has enhanced the Elective Hub, including the Lancashire Elective Eye Unit, by building our facilitates around the patient journey to optimise their experience from arrival through to discharge.
The successful reaccreditation follows months of work involving colleagues from across the Division of Surgery, including clinical teams, operational staff, booking and scheduling teams, governance colleagues and administrators who contributed evidence and supported the assessment process.
In a letter confirming the outcome, Professor Tim Briggs, GIRFT Programme Lead and NHS England National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery, congratulated the team on the achievement.
He said: "This is a huge achievement and recognition of the clinical and operational excellence within your team and their engagement in the reaccreditation process."
Jack Brown, Divisional Director for Surgery at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added: "Achieving GIRFT reaccreditation is a Fantastic accomplishment for everyone involved in delivering elective care across our Trust. To be among only four elective hubs nationally to secure reaccreditation demonstrates the dedication, professionalism and teamwork shown by colleagues every day.
"The assessment recognised many of the strengths we are proud of, including our culture of continuous improvement, our collaborative approach across sites and our commitment to providing patients with timely access to high-quality planned care.
"While we are delighted with this achievement, we also recognise that reaccreditation is not the end of the journey. We will continue working on the areas identified within the review and remain focused on delivering the best possible experience and outcomes for our patients."
While recognising the hub's many achievements, the review also identified opportunities for further development, including strengthening pre-operative assessment processes, enhancing patient communications, and further optimising our clinical and operational processes to strengthen theatre productivity. The Trust will now develop and implement a Hub Optimisation Plan to support the next phase of improvement.
The reaccreditation reflects Lancashire Teaching Hospitals' continued commitment to improving access to planned care and ensuring patients receive treatment in a dedicated elective environment, helping to reduce waiting times and improve patient outcomes.
