Interactive maps reveal the best and worst NHS hospitals in England – check the full list to see where yours ranks
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’.
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”.
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