AN INTERACTIVE map shows the best and worst rated hospitals across England, after a study found that almost half of NHS hospitals are currently performing below standard.
A whopping 49 per cent of NHS hospitals in England were rated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as ‘inadequate’ or ‘Requires Improvement’.
GettySix hospitals across the UK were rated as ‘Inadequate’ by the CQC[/caption]
Meanwhile, just under 7 per cent of hospitals were deemed to be performing “exceptionally well” and rated ‘Outstanding’.
The remaining 44 per cent of hospitals in England we rated ‘Good’, meaning they’re “performing well and meeting expectations”.
It comes after a major report from surgeon Lord Ara Darzi warned the NHS is in critical condition after a decade of “unforgivable” damage.
It said in the best case scenario, the health service will take four years beyond the next election to return to peak performance standards.
The CQC inspects and regulates health and social care services in England.
It assesses hospitals on five categories, examining whether they’re:
Safe
Effective
Caring
Responsive
Well-led
The CQC then produces an overall rating for each hospital, ranging from ‘Outstanding’ to ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’, or ‘Inadequate’.
Medical negligence specialists Patient Claim Line reviewed these numbers to reveal locations of the best and worst rated in the country.
A total of 22 hospitals across England were rated ‘Outstanding’, accounting for 6.8 per cent of services.
Meanwhile, 141 hospitals were rated ‘Good’.
But a whopping 152 NHS hospitals in England were deemed to require improvement in their services – meaning they aren’t performing well as they should be.
And a total of six hospitals were deemed to be performing so badly that that the CQC thought it necessary to taken enforcement action against the providers – rating the hospitals as ‘Inadequate’.
Found out where in the country these services are and if your nearest hospital is among them.
Worst performing hospitals
Many poorly rated hospitals were clustered in areas like London, Manchester and Sheffield.
According to Patient Claim Line the area with the highest number of badly performing hospitals was London, with a total of 16 facilities rated as ‘Requiring Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’.
Manchester and Sheffield were next with four poorly rated hospitals each.
Three hospitals in Leicester failed to meet required CQC standards, while Ashford, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northwood, Orpington, Plymouth, Southampton, Wirral and Worcester had two poorly rated services each.
CQC inspectors raised concerns about the following worst rated hospitals:
The Hillingdon Hospital, Uxbridge
Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull
The York Hospital, York
The Barkantine Centre, London
Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool
Corbett Hospital, Stourbidge
Inspectors at The Hillingdon Hospital raised concerns about a “deterioration in infection prevention and control”, finding “inconsistencies in hand hygiene practice amongst staff.”
Inspectors also noted that there was “poor recognition of sepsis” and they “were not assured that high-risk patient groups were screened for MRSA at pre-admission”.
Key findings from Lord Darzi’s report
On Hull Royal Infirmary’s maternity ward, inspectors noted that “systems, processes, and risk in the antenatal day unit / triage department were not well managed which led to long delays in women being seen and a chaotic environment which was not fit for purpose”.
They also flagged that “staff did not always work well together across the different units and some staff spoke about unkindness between staff.”
Writing about Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s urgent and emergency services unit, CQC inspectors observed that “at times the department felt chaotic and we had concerns about the lack of oversight the leadership team had of the risks”.
Best performing hospitals
The CQC rated a total of 22 hospitals across the UK as ‘Outstanding’.
Royal Surrey County Hospital
East Surrey Hospital
Homerton University Hospital
Frimley Park Hospital
Hexham General Hospital
Queen Charlottes and Chelsea Hospital
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
King’s Mill Hospital
Conquest Hospital
Fairfield General Hospital
Moorfields Eye Hospital
The Royal Marsden – London
The Royal Marsden – Sutton
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Walton Centre
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
Dental Hospital Manchester
Royal Manchester Eye Hospital
Leeds Dental Institute
Thomas Linacre Centre
Dental Hospital
Wansbeck General Hospital
CQC inspectors thought the following 152 hospitals had room to improve their services:
Luton and Dunstable Hospital
Leicester General Hospital
Leicester Royal Infirmary
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Kettering General Hospital
Worcestershire Royal Hospital
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
The Princess Royal Hospital
Macclesfield District General Hospital
Yeovil District Hospital
Stepping Hill Hospital
Musgrove Park Hospital
Leighton Hospital
Southport and Formby District General Hospital
Ormskirk District General Hospital
Bassetlaw District General Hospital
Doncaster Royal Infirmary
Montagu Hospital, Mexborough
North Middlesex University Hospital
Royal United Hospital Bath
Stroud Maternity Hospital
Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford)
North Devon District Hospital
Great Western Hospital
Horton General Hospital
Pinderfields Hospital
Dewsbury and District Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
The County Hospital
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Torbay Hospital
Crowborough Birthing Centre
Inspire Neurocare Worcester
Maidstone Hospital
The Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury
Princess Royal Hospital
The Countess of Chester Hospital
St Richard’s Hospital
Worthing Hospital
Royal Sussex County Hospital
Freeman Hospital
Royal Victoria Infirmary
University Hospital Lewisham
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
King George Hospital
Queen’s Hospital
William Harvey Hospital
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital
Royal Derby Hospital
Queens Hospital
Chorley and South Ribble Hospital
Royal Preston Hospital
Russells Hall Hospital
University Hospital Aintree
New Royal Liverpool University
Cumberland Infirmary
West Cumberland Hospital
George Eliot NHS Hospital
Cheltenham General Hospital
Lister Hospital
Dorset County Hospital
Basildon University Hospital
Broomfield Hospital
Southend University Hospital
Manor Hospital
Poole Hospital
Queen’s Medical Centre
University College Hospital & Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing
Royal Lancaster Infirmary
Furness General Hospital
St George’s Hospital (Tooting)
St James’s University Hospital
Arrowe Park Hospital
Lincoln County Hospital
Saint Mary’s Hospital
Wythenshawe Hospital
North Manchester General Hospital
Chesterfield Royal Hospital
Southampton General Hospital
St Mary’s Hospital
Scarborough Hospital
Royal Stoke University Hospital
The Princess Alexandra Hospital
Peterborough City Hospital
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
James Paget Hospital
Airedale General Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital
Colchester General Hospital
Medway Maritime Hospital
John Radcliffe Hospital
Alexandra Hospital
St Peter’s Hospital
Castle Hill Hospital
Derriford Hospital
Royal Cornwall Hospital
St Austell Hospital – Penrice Birthing Unit
Northampton General Hospital
King’s College Hospital
Croydon University Hospital
South Tyneside District Hospital
Sunderland Royal Hospital
Princess Royal University Hospital
County Hospital
Salford Royal Hospital
Royal Oldham Hospital
Royal Hallamshire Hospital
Northern General Hospital
Jessop Wing
Diana Princess of Wales Hospital
Scunthorpe General Hospital
Glenfield Hospital
Pontefract Hospital
Barking Birth Centre
Whipps Cross University Hospital
The Royal London Hospital
University Hospital of Hartlepool
University Hospital of North Tees
Orpington Hospital
Rotherham General Hospital
Northwick Park Hospital
Ealing Hospital
Pilgrim Hospital
Ashford Hospital
Watford General Hospital
Newham University Hospital
Barnet General Hospital
Westmorland General Hospital
Kent & Canterbury Hospital
West Suffolk Hospital
The Ipswich Hospital
St Albans City Hospital
Hemel Hempstead General Hospital
Victoria Infirmary
Clatterbridge Hospital
Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
Queen Mary’s Hospital
Central Middlesex Hospital
Fleetwood Hospital
Evesham Community Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Hammersmith Hospitals
Sandwell General Hospital
Manchester Royal Infirmary
Weston Park Hospital
Hannah House
Ludlow Community Hospital
Mount Gould Hospital
Royal South Hants Hospital
Mount Vernon Hospital
In response to Lord Darzi’s bombshell report – which found that A&E queues have exploded in size while progress in diagnosing cancer cases has stagnated – PM Keir Starmer declared the NHS “broken”.
He insisted the NHS must “reform or die”, setting out a 10-year plan to do so.
Keir’s 10-year plan for the NHS
THE Prime Minister said the Government is working on a 10-year plan to transform the NHS. This includes:
Digital Transformation: transition to digital healthcare with innovations like fully digital patient records and the NHS app for self-referrals and data transparency.
Community-Based Care: shift care from hospitals to local communities, increase GP access, and offer virtual consultations and home-based care through virtual wards.
Prevention Focus: prioritise prevention with NHS health checks, early interventions, and focus on children’s mental health and dental care.
Integrate Health and Social Care: streamline health and social care to reduce hospital stays and free up resources.
Workforce Support: end NHS strikes and employ trainee GPs to strengthen the healthcare workforce.
Long-Term Commitment: a decade-long reform plan to future-proof the NHS