Following the recent announcement from NHS England that the Humber Health Partnership (HHP) has been demoted to Segment 5 – NHS Humber Health Partnership Enters Special Measures –  there has been a further announcement that the Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust has now been ranked 134th out of the league tables of 134 acute trusts.

This ranking is part of NHS England’s Oversight Framework (NOF) which is used to show a transparent approach to assessing NHS Trusts, ensuring public accountability for performance. The framework grades trusts from segment 1 to 5, with one being “high performance” and 5 being “significant concerns”. The Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust had been under segment 4 but has now been reclassified as a segment 5.

The Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust includes the Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital and provides care to patients in the Hull and East Yorkshire region.

This ranking follows review by NHS England of each trust’s range of performance criteria, including patient safety, access to services and finances. This new ranking shows a fall of 4 places since the last time the table was released, which is done each quarter and evidences a general trend of declining standards with consistent slipping down the rankings. The last two quarters have shown a drop from being placed 123rd in September to 130th in December last year to now 134th in March 2026.

There have been concerns raised surrounding “never events” which are events described by NHS England as something that is “serious, preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if healthcare providers have implemented existing national guidance or safety recommendations”. It has been reported that the Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust has had 6 Never Events between April 2025 and January 2026.

A spokesperson for HHP said that the new ranking “reflects the scale of challenges which the organisation has been managing for some time. These issues are not new.” The HHP has confirmed that there are a number of changes already underway which include major improvements to programmes such as reducing waiting times for breast cancer treatment, and the introduction of a seven-day service to help patients with clots on their brains.

The spokesperson further confirmed that other special measures have been implemented including “adapting medical rotas to provide 24/7 cover, introducing a new digital appointment system empowering patients to book and cancel appointments and offering people new services to support their recovery at home instead of them spending too long in hospital.”