'Worst' trust makes interim NHS boss permanent

2 hours ago

Pritti MistryEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — Lyn Simpson has been appointed group chief executive of Humber Health Partnership

BBC Lyn Simpson - a woman wearing a light-coloured checked jacket and an NHS lanyard - stands in a hospital room. Medical equipment, a curtained area and information boards are in the background. — Lyn Simpson has been appointed group chief executive of Humber Health Partnership

England's worst performing NHS hospital trust has given its interim boss a permanent position.

The Humber Health Partnership announced it had appointed Lyn Simpson as its substantive group chief executive.

She took over from her predecessor Jonathan Lofthouse on an interim basis - with a £279,000 annual salary - in July 2025, before NHS England ranked Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) bottom of its list of 134 acute trusts last month.

A spokesperson for Humber Health Partnership, which includes the trust, said Simpson "provided strong and focused leadership since joining the Partnership at a critical time".

The spokesperson said Simpson had been appointed following a "competitive recruitment process" after she was asked by NHS England to step in last year to provide "leadership and stability".

They said she had been working on an improvement plan to address the "long-standing challenges facing the organisation".

Chair of the partnership Alan Downey said: "Her substantive appointment provides the stability and continuity needed as we move into the next phase of work to strengthen services and continue to improve outcomes for our patients and communities."

An aerial view of Hull Royal Infirmary - a large, modern hospital complex with a tall rectangular tower clad in alternating light blue and grey panels, featuring rows of identical windows. Below is a covered parking area with cars and vans parked within painted lines. Surrounding the building are parking areas filled with vehicles and tree‑lined streets. In the distance, trees and a stadium structure are visible under an overcast sky. — Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was ranked bottom of NHS England's list of 134 acute trusts

Simpson's appointment comes after HUTH dropped to the bottom of NHS England's league table of acute trusts in December.

Last month, it emerged £18,477 of taxpayers' money was spent on overnight stays for Simpson and her team of four other senior managers who had been brought in to turn the trust around.

Simpson previously led North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC), where there were "serious concerns" over bullying and discrimination of disabled and non-white staff.

NCIC, HUTH and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) were among five trusts identified by Health Secretary Wes Streeting as places where "failure has been tolerated for too long".

Both HUTH and NLAG make up the health partnership, which recently entered special measures.

Simpson said "real progress" had been made in trying to address the trust's issues but acknowledged there was "still a lot of work to do".

"These challenges have developed over many years and will not be resolved overnight, but we now have greater clarity, stronger clinical leadership and the right focus to deliver sustained improvement for patients across the Humber."

In an interview with the BBC last month, she denied the trust was "in a mess", adding: "It's more of an opportunity in terms of what we can do to turn it around."

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