Crisis-hit hospitals trust advertises £300k chief exec role
WORST PERFORMING IN THE COUNTRY: Hull Royal Infirmary is managed by Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust
By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
The permanent chief executive role at Hull’s under-performing hospitals trust is being advertised – with a salary of up to £308,976.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH), which manages Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, is recruiting for the position. The role will also cover Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) as part of the wider Humber Health Partnership (HHP).
The two failing trusts have been named among five nationally to be placed in a new Government ‘intensive recovery’ programme, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting claiming “failure has been tolerated for too long”.
Interim chief executive Lyn Simpson joined in July 2025 on a salary of £279,162 a year. She replaced Jonathan Lofthouse, who had been suspended three months earlier following a clash with the trust’s chairman at the time.
The Hull Story exclusively revealed last month that HUTH is now officially the worst performing trust in the country – ranked 134th out of 134 in NHS England’s performance league table. It has fallen from 123rd in September 2025, despite an ‘improvement team’ being brought in at a cost of more than £390,000 in salaries and expenses over six months.
Ms Simpson and the improvement team have been claiming thousands of pounds on expenses for hotel stays and travel and there have been accusations of a “bullying culture” at the trust.
The permanent chief executive position is now being advertised with a salary of £245,663-£308,976 plus “up to 15 per cent recruitment and retention premium”.
RECRUITING: Alan Downey
The person specification states candidates must already be a chief executive at a large NHS provider organisation and have:
Experience of working within a group model
A track record of working in organisations that are significantly challenged and requiring turnaround
Experience of empowering clinical leadership at all levels
A proven track record of delivery within a large, complex organisation
A recognised history of developing and maintaining effective relationships with stakeholders – internally and externally, and a proven ability to network at all levels.
Under ‘personal attributes’ required, it lists:
Team player
Leads by example
Approachable
Resilient
Personal integrity
Committed to openness and transparency
Enthusiastic
Long-term commitment to the role.
The deadline for applications is April 23.
A spokesperson for HUTH said: “Alan Downey, Chairman of Humber Health Partnership, confirmed on April 2 that he has begun the process of recruiting to the role of chief executive on a substantive basis.
“The interview process will be conducted in accordance with NHS England guidance and will feature an interview panel headed by Mr Downey, and with NHS England external oversight.
“NHS England will ratify the appointment before it is shared, in the first instance, with staff ahead of a public announcement.”