‘Serious concerns’: Council leader seeking Health Secretary meeting over worst-ranked hospitals trust

CALLING FOR ACTION: Councillor Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

Hull City Council leader Mike Ross has written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting to request an urgent meeting over the region’s failing hospitals trust.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH), which manages Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, is currently ranked the worst in the country.

NHS England – the executive body responsible for leading and overseeing the NHS – ranks health trusts against a range of performance criteria, including patient safety, access to services and finances.

The Hull Story revealed in March that HUTH is now ranked 134th out of 134 trusts after falling four places in the quarterly Acute Trust League Table. It had previously dropped from 123rd in September to 130th in December last year.

It has also been named as one of five trusts nationally to be placed in a new Government ‘intensive recovery’ programme.

HUTH is part of the wider NHS Humber Health Partnership (HHP), which includes Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG). NLaG is another of the trusts placed in the programme.

Announcing the move, Mr Streeting said: “No more turning a blind eye to failure.”

Now, Councillor Ross and Matt Jukes, chief executive of the city council, have jointly written to the Health Secretary to express their “serious concerns”.

In the letter, they state: “We are writing on behalf of Hull City Council to express our serious concerns regarding the state of health services in Hull and to request an urgent meeting with you to discuss the action required to address these challenges.

“Recent assessments highlight the scale of the issue. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been ranked 134th out of 134 trusts nationally by NHS England and is currently rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission. In addition, the Humber Health Partnership has been identified as requiring urgent improvement.

MEETING REQUEST: Matt Jukes

“These findings reflect a struggling system under significant strain, despite the continued dedication and professionalism of NHS staff across our region.

“More broadly, access to healthcare in Hull remains a major concern. The city has long faced challenges with GP availability, making it difficult for residents to secure timely appointments. Many residents have been unable to access NHS appointments in recent years, while accident and emergency waiting times have consistently ranked among the worst in the country.

“This is not acceptable for our residents.

“We recognise the Government’s ambitions, set out in the ‘Fit for the Future’ plan, to reduce bureaucracy and reinvest savings into frontline care. However, there remains a clear lack of detail on how these reforms will be sufficiently funded or how they will address the immediate pressures facing areas such as Hull.

“Hull City Council believes that high-quality, accessible healthcare is fundamental to a fair and functioning society. The current situation risks not only poorer health outcomes, but also wider social and economic harm to our city.”

The letter continues: “Given the scale and urgency of these issues, we would like, in line with the motion passed by the council included with this letter, to invite you to Hull to meet with myself and local partners, so that we can discuss the challenges first-hand and work together on the interventions and funding required to improve services for our residents.

“We would welcome your early response and hope you will agree to meet with us in Hull at the earliest opportunity so you can see for yourself the struggles our hard working staff face on a daily basis.”

HHP and HUTH are currently headed by interim chief executive Lyn Simpson, who joined in July 2025 on a salary of £279,162.

Ms Simpson has refused to by interviewed by The Hull Story about the current failings and what is being done to address them.