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:

1. The Hillingdon Hospital, Uxbridge
2. Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull
3. The York Hospital, York
4. The Barkantine Centre, London
5. Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool
6. 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’.

1. Royal Surrey County Hospital
2. East Surrey Hospital
3. Homerton University Hospital
4. Frimley Park Hospital
5. Hexham General Hospital
6. Queen Charlottes and Chelsea Hospital
7. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
8. King’s Mill Hospital
9. Conquest Hospital
10. Fairfield General Hospital
11. Moorfields Eye Hospital
12. The Royal Marsden – London
13. The Royal Marsden – Sutton
14. Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
15. The Walton Centre
16. Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
17. Dental Hospital Manchester
18. Royal Manchester Eye Hospital
19. Leeds Dental Institute
20. Thomas Linacre Centre
21. Dental Hospital
22. Wansbeck General Hospital

CQC inspectors thought the following 152 hospitals had room to improve their services:

1. Luton and Dunstable Hospital
2. Leicester General Hospital
3. Leicester Royal Infirmary
4. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
5. Kettering General Hospital
6. Worcestershire Royal Hospital
7. Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
8. The Princess Royal Hospital
9. Macclesfield District General Hospital
10. Yeovil District Hospital
11. Stepping Hill Hospital
12. Musgrove Park Hospital
13. Leighton Hospital
14. Southport and Formby District General Hospital
15. Ormskirk District General Hospital
16. Bassetlaw District General Hospital
17. Doncaster Royal Infirmary
18. Montagu Hospital, Mexborough
19. North Middlesex University Hospital
20. Royal United Hospital Bath
21. Stroud Maternity Hospital
22. Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford)
23. North Devon District Hospital
24. Great Western Hospital
25. Horton General Hospital
26. Pinderfields Hospital
27. Dewsbury and District Hospital
28. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
29. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
30. The County Hospital
31. Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
32. Torbay Hospital
33. Crowborough Birthing Centre
34. Inspire Neurocare Worcester
35. Maidstone Hospital
36. The Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury
37. Princess Royal Hospital
38. The Countess of Chester Hospital
39. St Richard’s Hospital
40. Worthing Hospital
41. Royal Sussex County Hospital
42. Freeman Hospital
43. Royal Victoria Infirmary
44. University Hospital Lewisham
45. Queen Elizabeth Hospital
46. King George Hospital
47. Queen’s Hospital
48. William Harvey Hospital
49. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital
50. Royal Derby Hospital
51. Queens Hospital
52. Chorley and South Ribble Hospital
53. Royal Preston Hospital
54. Russells Hall Hospital
55. University Hospital Aintree
56. New Royal Liverpool University
57. Cumberland Infirmary
58. West Cumberland Hospital
59. George Eliot NHS Hospital
60. Cheltenham General Hospital
61. Lister Hospital
62. Dorset County Hospital
63. Basildon University Hospital
64. Broomfield Hospital
65. Southend University Hospital
66. Manor Hospital
67. Poole Hospital
68. Queen’s Medical Centre
69. University College Hospital & Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing
70. Royal Lancaster Infirmary
71. Furness General Hospital
72. St George’s Hospital (Tooting)
73. St James’s University Hospital
74. Arrowe Park Hospital
75. Lincoln County Hospital
76. Saint Mary’s Hospital
77. Wythenshawe Hospital
78. North Manchester General Hospital
79. Chesterfield Royal Hospital
80. Southampton General Hospital
81. St Mary’s Hospital
82. Scarborough Hospital
83. Royal Stoke University Hospital
84. The Princess Alexandra Hospital
85. Peterborough City Hospital
86. Hinchingbrooke Hospital
87. James Paget Hospital
88. Airedale General Hospital
89. The Royal Free Hospital
90. Colchester General Hospital
91. Medway Maritime Hospital
92. John Radcliffe Hospital
93. Alexandra Hospital
94. St Peter’s Hospital
95. Castle Hill Hospital
96. Derriford Hospital
97. Royal Cornwall Hospital
98. St Austell Hospital – Penrice Birthing Unit
99. Northampton General Hospital
100. King’s College Hospital
101. Croydon University Hospital
102. South Tyneside District Hospital
103. Sunderland Royal Hospital
104. Princess Royal University Hospital
105. County Hospital
106. Salford Royal Hospital
107. Royal Oldham Hospital
108. Royal Hallamshire Hospital
109. Northern General Hospital
110. Jessop Wing
111. Diana Princess of Wales Hospital
112. Scunthorpe General Hospital
113. Glenfield Hospital
114. Pontefract Hospital
115. Barking Birth Centre
116. Whipps Cross University Hospital
117. The Royal London Hospital
118. University Hospital of Hartlepool
119. University Hospital of North Tees
120. Orpington Hospital
121. Rotherham General Hospital
122. Northwick Park Hospital
123. Ealing Hospital
124. Pilgrim Hospital
125. Ashford Hospital
126. Watford General Hospital
127. Newham University Hospital
128. Barnet General Hospital
129. Westmorland General Hospital
130. Kent & Canterbury Hospital
131. West Suffolk Hospital
132. The Ipswich Hospital
133. St Albans City Hospital
134. Hemel Hempstead General Hospital
135. Victoria Infirmary
136. Clatterbridge Hospital
137. Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
138. Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
139. Queen Mary’s Hospital
140. Central Middlesex Hospital
141. Fleetwood Hospital
142. Evesham Community Hospital
143. Charing Cross Hospital
144. Hammersmith Hospitals
145. Sandwell General Hospital
146. Manchester Royal Infirmary
147. Weston Park Hospital
148. Hannah House
149. Ludlow Community Hospital
150. Mount Gould Hospital
151. Royal South Hants Hospital
152. 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.