Emergency care at Hull Royal Infirmary 'requires improvement'
That's according to a review by the Care and Quality Commission
Last updated 19th Nov 2025
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found improvements in urgent and emergency care at Hull Royal Infirmary, run by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The overall rating for the service has improved, from inadequate, to requires improvement after an inspection on 16 and 17 September.
The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s ongoing monitoring of services.
While there have been improvements in a number of areas since the last inspection, there was still some breaches relating to a safe environment, staffing, infection, prevention and control, medicines management, consent to care and treatment, good management, as well as monitoring and improving outcomes for people.
Following this inspection, CQC has improved the rating from inadequate to requires improvement for being safe, effective, responsive and well-led. Caring has gone up from requires improvement to good.
The overall rating for Hull Royal Infirmary has improved from inadequate to requires improvement.
Deputy director of operations for the north, Karen Knapton, said: “When we inspected urgent and emergency care at Hull Royal Infirmary, it was positive to see that some improvements had been made since our previous inspection. However more work was needed across the department to improve the standard of care people were receiving.
“We found that there had been changes in the leadership team, and they were driving improvements. They’d also created a culture where staff felt more confident speaking up and raising concerns, so people receive safer care.
“Most people and their families were positive about the care they received from staff and felt that they were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff also communicated well with people so that they understood their care and treatment plans.
“However, it was concerning that cleanliness wasn’t a priority in the emergency department, and staff didn’t always clean equipment in between use. This meant that there was an increased risk of infection.
“People felt that the waiting area was busy and lacked space to accommodate everyone attending the service. Additionally, people were waiting for long periods of time on trolleys without anything to relieve their pain such as pressure relieving equipment.
“Whilst the trust has made some improvements, they have more work to do to ensure people receive safe and effective care. We’ll continue to monitor them to make sure this happens.”
Inspectors found:
• Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• The service had improved the triage process since the last inspection, including changing waiting areas so staff had better observation of people.
• Staff involved people in planning any changes to their care.
• Staff managed incidents and complaints well and lessons were learnt.
However:
• The service didn’t always make sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to keep people safe.
• The service didn’t consistently follow safe systems and processes for prescribing and giving medicines which could put people at risk.
• Staff didn’t consistently ensure people had enough food and drink which could result in them becoming unwell.
• The trust provided training, however not all staff had completed it to the required level to keep people safe.
Chief Executive of NHS Humber Health Partnership, Lyn Simpson, said: “We are very pleased to see that the CQC have acknowledged a number of improvements have been made since our previous inspection. The report notes that changes in the leadership team have driven improvements, creating a culture where staff feel more confident speaking up and raising concerns so people receive safer care.
“They have told us that patients and their families were positive about the care they received from staff and felt that they were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff also communicated well with people so that they understood their care and treatment plans.
“However, we know that there are still areas where we need to improve and we will work with the team to address these.”