The NHS boss who resigned amid claims of bullying has hit back at allegations that Lincolnshire's hospitals were not well managed.

David Bowles quit as chairman of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust last week following a dispute with Sir John Brigstocke, chairman of NHS East Midlands.

Mr Bowles told the Echo that the strategic health authority had an obsession with Government targets which it put before patient care.

But chief executive of NHS East Midlands, Dame Barbara Hakin, responded by saying that Government targets are there to protect patients and ULHT was given enough cash to achieve them.

The Trust blamed a rise in patient numbers in December and January for not hitting its 18-week GP referral to hospital treatment times and for exceeding the four-hour waiting time target in A&E.

But Mr Bowles announced yesterday that ULHT – which runs sites in Lincoln, Grantham, Boston and Louth – was actually told by its main commissioner, NHS Lincolnshire, to expect a fall in the number of patients.

"Fifteen months ago ULHT had been told to plan for reductions in activity by NHS Lincolnshire," said Mr Bowles.

"Instead ULHT had record increases in the numbers of patients they treated."

John McIvor, chief executive of NHS Lincolnshire replied to the allegation by saying that his trust met with ULHT on an almost weekly basis to check services are delivered correctly.

"These regular meetings allow new initiatives to develop so as to ensure that both NHS Lincolnshire and ULHT continue to deliver high quality, timely services for the people of Lincolnshire," said Mr McIvor.

Dr Richard Lendon, interim director of performance and information at ULHT, said the hospitals had remained extremely busy with the trust experiencing its highest number of emergency admissions ever –more than 1,100 a week - in June.

But despite this it is now meeting the Government's 18-week GP referral to treatment time target as well as the A&E four hour waiting time requirement.

For more on the ongoing row, see Thursday's Echo.