A NEW chairman of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust has been announced.

Paul Richardson will now take on the role with immediate effect.

Mr Richardson has been with the trust as interim chairman since July 2009 and has now been offered the post for a four-year term.

Following an international engineering career, Mr Richardson gained NHS experience serving as a non-executive director of the Scunthorpe Health Authority and then Scunthorpe and Goole Hospitals Trust.

Mr Richardson said: "Since my arrival at the trust in July, I have had the opportunity to meet many staff throughout the organisation and I am very clear that there is the commitment to ensure we provide the best possible care to the people of Lincolnshire."