The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the Trust as good for how well-led it is following an inspection in November.
The Trust runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Lukes Hospital, providing services for people in Bradford and communities across Yorkshire.
What Inspectors found
The CQC said the Trust’s health research team were exceptional in their approach to developing new ideas to improve the health and wellbeing for people using services and the wider community.
They also said the Trust had effective processes in place for people using services to raise complaints. Also, the trust’s annual report included examples of where the trust had made improvements as a result of complaints and feedback.
Inspectors mentioned that the trust had opened a new learning and development hub which included a simulation centre and technical skills lab. This additional space was created in response to student feedback, to help support staff learning, in turn improving people’s care.
The Trust was part of some pilots to help improve how people were receiving treatment. Including one which allowed physiotherapists to give exercise plans to people using videos. Another was to support children with complex medical conditions on how to swallow pills rather than liquid medicines.
They found workforce equality gaps
However, inspectors found that leaders were aware there were workforce equality gaps, including staff from all ethnic minority groups experiencing higher rates of harassment, bullying and abuse. The Trust had plans in place to address improve this.
CQC is also publishing a report from its previous well-led inspection carried out in April 2024, rating the trust as requires improvement. Publication of that report was delayed due to challenges around new methodology CQC had introduced for well-led inspections and an extended factual accuracy process, required to consider comments received from the trust.
As a result, a decision was made to publish both reports at the same time. The Trust had made improvements at the time of the most recent inspection.
The November 2025 inspection report and ratings supersede the report from April 2024.
Leadership had improved
“During our inspection, we found leadership at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had improved since our last inspection in April 2024,” said Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of hospitals in the north.
“Some new leaders had joined the trust and were on an improvement journey to work more effectively together, and to make further changes so local people receive a high standard of care.
“It was positive to see that these leaders were managing significant risks well across the trust. There were appropriate systems in place for managing them, and staff were clear about what action was needed to keep people safe.
“We were pleased to see leaders working well with partner organisations, so people using services have better outcomes. For example, it had worked with an organisation to implement Europe’s first hospital digital command centre using artificial intelligence. This means staff have real time data to help them make quick and informed decisions on how to manage people’s care.
“The centre was having a positive impact on efficiency, including reducing the length of time people needed to stay in hospital, ensuring people received care in the most appropriate wards, as well as easing pressures on staff.
“However, the trust didn’t have a clear shared strategy and direction for the future, although they were working with partners to develop this to improve services for local people.
“Also, the trust and its board members had a positive attitude to improving the culture of the organisation, however they recognised further work was needed in this area. Particularly around staff feeling able to speak up and raise concerns, as not being able to do this may affect the quality of people’s care.
“Overall, leaders should be pleased with the findings of our well-led inspection. We will continue to monitor the trust to ensure these improvements are embedded and sustained.”
What the Trust responded
A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are pleased that following a recent well led inspection carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), our trust has been rated as ‘Good’.
“The inspectors highlighted the improvement undertaken by the trust, with new leaders having joined the board.
“The inspectors recognised the work that our colleagues do to manage risks and keep people as safe as possible and highlighted the exceptional research work that is delivered through the Bradford Institute for Health Research that we are very proud to host.
“The report also describes how we continue to innovate, working in partnership with our communities and organisations in the city and beyond.
“And we have been recognised for the significant steps we have been taking to developing and implementing robust environmental sustainability actions.”
“The CQC commented: ‘The organisation demonstrated commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion through positive initiatives, however the report identified that some colleagues reported having experienced discrimination and harassment.’
“This is simply unacceptable, and we are truly sorry to hear about these experiences.
“We want to ensure that every colleague feels a sense of pride and belonging working for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and we have been and will continue to take action to address this.
“Our future actions include developing a shadow board programme to help support colleagues who want to take the next step on their leadership journey and the launch of a new online, personalised career progression hub.
“In addition, we are working with local and national partners to launch a new anti-racism programme in summer and over the coming months we will be running listening exercises focusing on creating a sense of belonging by tackling any forms of discrimination, improving colleague voice and influence, and developing our wellbeing support.
“We are confident these actions will create a renewed sense of purpose and belonging for colleagues across our trust.”