It follows a review by NHS England, which recognised the trust has delivered significant, sustained and demonstrable improvements including in finance, performance and governance.

The trust has been in special measures since November 2018, most recently being involved in the Recovery Support Programme (RSP).

Jo Williams, group chief executive said: ‘This is a significant milestone on our improvement journey, and I am incredibly proud of our staff for their hard work and dedication. They have and continue to put our patients at the heart of our work to transform care and improve health outcomes.

‘This is not the end of our improvement journey. We know that we have much more still to do, particularly in urgent and emergency care, but we are making tangible progress and we are pleased this has been recognised by NHS England and partners. We will continue to listen, reflect and learn so we are always improving.'

Improvement milestones in the last 18 months include:

• up to 96 out of 134 in the national league tables (National Oversight Framework, NOF)
• most improved trust nationally for elective recovery (18-week referral to treatment)
• ranked second for cancer 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard and continuing to see steady improvement in 62-day cancer referral to treatment waiting times
• strongest performance for five years for diagnostics
• sustainable progress made in maternity and neonatal services, and on track to exit the Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP)
• improved financial performance; on track to deliver a Cost Improvement Programme (CIP) of £41m, the highest to date, and making a substantial reduction in agency expenditure
• overall, on track to achieve a 50% deficit reduction since 2023/24 and deliver value for patients and taxpayers
• secured University Trust status, recognising the trust's focus on research, education and training.

Dr Jess Sokolov, regional medical director NHSE Midlands, said: ‘NHS England has closely supported The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust over many years, and we are delighted that it has met this important milestone. The trust would not have been able to deliver such significant improvements without the vision of their new leadership as well as the perseverance, dedication and hard work of staff.

‘Whilst there is more to do to continue their improvement journey, the Trust has made clear progress, and we hope that all their employees are proud of the achievements they have made for local patients.'