Scrutiny Report Template
Scrutiny Report Template
Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Subject: NHS Oversight Framework 2025-26: Update from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Date of meeting: 19 November 2025
Report of: Chair of the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Contact Officer: Name: Giles Rossington, Scrutiny Manager
Tel: 01273 295514
Email: giles.rossington@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected: (All Wards);
Key Decision: No
1.1 This report presents an update from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) on the trust’s performance against the 2025-26 NHS Oversight Framework (NOF) and on its improvement plans.
2.1 That Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee note the contents of this report.
3.1 In November 2024, the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care announced that NHS England (NHSE) would assess NHS trusts against a range of performance criteria and would publish the results. This assessment, the NHS Oversight Framework (NOF), ranks each trust against comparable trusts (acute, mental health, community or ambulance trusts) across England. In addition, the NOF includes more detailed information on individual trust performance across a number of domains. The NOF assessment process allows NHSE to determine the support individual trusts need to improve, as well as enabling the public to see how their local NHS trusts are performing. NHSE published the 2025-26 NOF in June 2025 and subsequently published acute and non-acute trust league tables in September 2025. Links to the NOF and to the non-acute league table for 2025-26 are available here:
NHS England » NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26
NHS England » Non-acute hospital trust league table
3.2 The NOF assesses each NHS trust in England against a range of domains. Some of the domains are constant across all trusts but others differ depending on the type of organisation (acute, mental health etc.). For mental health trusts the domains include access to various services, excess length of stay in inpatient beds, user satisfaction with community mental health services, staff satisfaction measures, staff sickness absence rates, productivity, and whether the trust is running a surplus or deficit. This data is used to determine each trust’s position in the relevant trust league table. However, the process of calculating a trust’s league table ranking from its NOF scores is not straightforward. For instance, financial sustainability is deemed an overriding priority, with no trust in deficit able to achieve a ranking better than 3 (on a scale of 4, with 1 being best performing). It should also be noted that the NOF scores are for individual trusts, but in reality NHS trusts operate within a complex health and care system where one organisation’s performance may be impacted by the actions of other partners over which the trust may have little influence or control.
3.3 Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) is an NHS trust delivering mental health services across Sussex. SPFT is ranked in the lower part of the non-acute trust league table. The trust scores especially poorly in terms of inpatient length of stay for adult patients, % of patients presenting in crisis seen with 24 hours, and workforce metrics. SPFT forecasts a planned deficit position at year end, although in-year financial performance (year to date variance to financial plan) is good. Given these NOF scores, SPFT has been invited to present its performance and improvement planning to the HOSC. More information from SPFT is included as Appendix 1.
4.1 Not relevant to this report for information.
5.1 None undertaken for this information report.
6.1 None arising from this information report.
Name of finance officer consulted: I CHAGONDA
Date consulted: 01/11/2025
Name of finance officer consulted: Date consulted (dd/mm/yy):
7.1 The subject matter of this report falls within the remit of this Committee, which is charged with scrutinizing service provision in the Council’s area. No legal implications have been identified in this report, which is for noting.
Name of lawyer consulted: Victoria Simpson Date consulted 5/11/2025
8.1 None directly for this information report.
9.1 None directly for this information report.
10. Health and Wellbeing Implications:
10.1 None directly for this information report.
11.1 Members are asked to note the information provided by SPFT on the trust’s improvement planning.
Supporting Documentation
1. Information provided by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust