The news comes after revelations that lists had been deliberately manipulated to meet government targets.

At a meeting of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust board on Tuesday, officials said a recovery plan had been successful.

More than 1,000 patients were put on a "suspended waiting list" at Lincoln County Hospital to hit targets.

Chief's retirement

The lists affected elective orthopaedic surgery patients who were having to wait more than the government limit of six months.

The trust said all the patients involved had been dealt with and that since the time of the waiting list problem, no new outpatients had had to wait longer than 13 weeks for treatment.

As a result, the trust's interim chief executive, Helen Scott-Smith, was suspended in August - also as a "neutral act" - to allow the investigation to proceed but she later retired.

A new chief executive, Gary Walker, has been in charge since October.