About Us

Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust was formed in 2010 to bring together local NHS hospital and community services under one organisation. This means experienced healthcare professionals are working closely together to improve the ‘patient journey’.

This is about ensuring that people get the right treatment at the right place and the right time – reducing waiting times, speeding up discharge from hospital and improving services across a range of settings. We are also applying to become a Foundation Trust, and would welcome you to sign up as a member and give us your views. 

Read more about our Foundation Trust Application >>


University Hospital Lewisham


University Hospital Lewisham is a local hospital in the centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. We offer medical, surgical and emergency services for our local community. We also provide a range of specialist services for South East London and beyond, including children’s day case surgery, neonatal intensive care, cystic fibrosis care and ear, nose and throat and vascular surgery. We are also one of the few hospitals in London to have a separate Children’s A&E Department – a service that is rated ‘Excellent’ by the Care Quality Commission.


Services in the Community


Our community health professionals work closely with the hospital and GPs to provide support to adults and children across a range of health centres, community clinics, and in patients’ own homes. Adult services include community matrons, district nurses, the Diabetes Team, the Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) Team, who provide care and expertise to people who need to be fed by a feeding tube, and the Sexual and Reproductive Health Team. Our Children and Young People’s Services including health visiting, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and many other services.


Management Structure


The Trust Board is responsible for policy and the Trust Management Executive is responsible for operational management. The Trust Chief Executive is Mr Tim Higginson and the Trust Board Chair is Elizabeth Butler. The Trust Board has two consultant members; the Medical Director is Ms Jane Linsell, Consultant General Surgeon and the Trust Director of Clinical and Academic Strategy is Dr Gabrielle Kingsley, Consultant and Reader in Rheumatology.

See the Trust Board >>

The Trust has five clinical directorates: women’s and sexual health, children and young people, specialist medicine, acute and elderly medicine, and surgical services.

See an A-Z of our services >>


Academic Activity


We also play a key role in the education of tomorrow's doctors and nurses. Our hospital is one of the leading providers of clinical placements for medical students, and pre-registration nursing and midwifery students. We have over 200 commissioned students passing through our wards and departments at different times of the year. The Trust has a strong record in medical education. Undergraduates from the KCL School of Medicine are assigned to Lewisham in years 3, 4 and 5 of their training. The Trust also trains a large number of postgraduate medical trainees from Foundation to the end of specialist training in all disciplines. Both trainees and students value their attachment at Lewisham highly.


Research


The Trust has made a major commitment to the development of Research and Education with dedicated Centres comprising lecture theatres, seminar rooms, a multi-disciplinary library, a Computer Assisted Learning Room and Medical Illustration/ Graphics capacity. The Trust encourages its staff to undertake research supported by the R&D Unit jointly led by the Trust R&D Director (Dr Gabrielle Kingsley) and the Director of Knowledge, Governance and Communications (Mrs Joy Ellery). The Trust participates in a range of research projects linked to the local Comprehensive Research Network (CLRN), including studies in Cancer, Stroke, Medicines for Children, Rheumatology and Neurology. An annual Research and Clinical Effectiveness day and Academic Report further promote the academic activities of the Trust.


Where to next?


Latest News

Lewisham Birth Centre celebrated its third birthday on Friday 10th May with a special [...]

Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust has been named as one of the CHKS 40 Top Hospitals for the [...]

The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department at Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust has become one of [...]

Did You Know?

We have some of the lowest rates of hospital-acquired infection in London.

Trust Logo YG

You'd be surprised at
what else we've achieved >>