Failing hospitals trust remains worst in country
POOR PERFORMANCE: Castle Hill Hospital
EXCLUSIVE
By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
The region’s hospitals trust is still the worst in the country, according to the latest performance league table published today.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH), which manages Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, fell to the bottom of NHS England’s national league table earlier this year.
The rankings in the quarterly-published table are based on performance against a range of criteria.
In March, NHS England – the executive body responsible for leading and overseeing the NHS – ranked HUTH 134th out of 134 trusts.
Trusts are also given an average score based on specific metrics – ranging from 1.00 as “high performing” to 4.00 as “low performing”. HUTH had an average score of 3.23 in March.
In the updated league table published today, HUTH is still ranked 134th and now has an average score of 3.19.
It is rated “low performing” for patient safety, access to services and finance and productivity, “below average” for people and workforce and “above average” for effectiveness and experience.
HUTH is part of the wider NHS Humber Health Partnership (HHP) group, which includes Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG).
NLag was ranked 114th in the league table in March, with an average score of 2.86. It has now fallen to 119th, with an average score of 2.79.
BOTTOM OF THE TABLE: Hull Royal Infirmary
The league table forms part of NHS England’s Oversight Framework (NOF), which it describes as “a consistent and transparent approach to assessing NHS trusts, ensuring public accountability for performance”.
Both HUTH and NLaG were also named among the first five trusts in the country to be placed in the new NHS Intensive Recovery programme in March.
The Hull Story revealed earlier this week how one patient under the care of HUTH had the wrong part of their body anaesthetised before an operation, three others were left with swabs inside them after surgery and another had a lens wrongly implanted in their eye among six so-called ‘Never Events’ between April and November last year.
NHS England classes Never Events as “serious, preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if healthcare providers have implemented existing national guidance or safety recommendations”.
Lyn Simpson was appointed HHP’s chief executive last month, having held the interim position since July 2025. Alan Downey was announced as the new Chair in March.
A spokesperson for HHP said: “We have been honest with our staff and the population we serve about the challenges we face from the launch of the National Oversight Framework. These challenges did not manifest overnight and require sustained, radical and transformative solutions.
“While we are disappointed with our current positions, our first clinically-led improvement plan, driven by our most experienced doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, is already securing major improvements.
“Our Emergency Department in Hull has been held up in Parliament as an example of improved performance nationally, breast cancer appointments are now in line with national targets and our hospitals at Grimsby and Goole were named as among the best in the country for planned surgery only days ago.
“While underlining our commitment to continued improvement, we wish to pay tribute to our staff for their hard work and dedication to patients.
“The recent appointments of a new chairman and chief executive recently are bringing much-needed organisational stability and we look forward to seeing our progress reflected in the National Oversight Framework in the near future.”