On the face of it, the prospect of the BRI and St Luke's hospitals losing their three-star top rating and being reduced to one-star status is a serious blow to the standing of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and will be widely taken as an indication that standards of treatment and care have taken a dramatic downturn.

Yet things might not be as bad as they seem. According to its chief executive, David Jackson, the Trust is on course to meet five of the Government's eight key performance indicators in the Healthcare Commission's performances appraisal system.

One of the problem areas seems to be the four-hour maximum wait target for A&E, which Mr Jackson has warned is "difficult". That is understandable. The department is at the mercy of forces beyond anyone's control. Mr Jackson cites the case of a Saturday night when the target was scuppered by the need to treat victims of three major road-traffic accidents. In such circumstances, it is right that dealing with those patients most urgently in need of treatment should have priority over meeting targets for everyone passing through the department.

Mr Jackson believes the fall from ratings grace is largely due to the Trust's serious financial problems. If that is the case, then the Healthcare Commission should say so now rather than waiting until July, to avoid a further loss of confidence in Bradford's hospitals.

This is particularly important as the star rating system is due to be scrapped next year, making any reclassification this year merely a paper exercise.