EIGHT out of ten NHS hospitals aren’t up to standard, an official league table shows.
A new scoring system published by ministers today shows 27 out of 134 of major hospitals make it into tier one or two.
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The remaining 107 fall into tier three or four, meaning they are the “most challenged” and offering poor care or failing to balance the books. Just 16 hospitals are in tier one.
Under NHS rules, patients have the right to be treated at another hospital if theirs is bad.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting ordered the public league tables to expose failing health bosses and said: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
He added: “These league tables will identify where urgent support is needed and allow high-performing areas to share best practices with others.”
The rankings show eight out of the ten best performers are specialists like Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
The best performing general hospital was the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust.
The worst was the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Second from bottom was the Countess of Chester Hospital, where killer nurse Lucy Letby worked.
NHS trusts are given an overall score including factors such as A&E waiting times and op backlogs.
Any that blows its budget is relegated to tier three or four.
NHS chief Sir Jim Mackey said: “Letting patients and the public access more data will drive improvement even faster.”
But NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, warned the league table could damage patient confidence and demoralise staff.
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BRITS’ RISK ON HEART
NEARLY half of middle-aged Brits do not know if they have high blood pressure and may be among millions at risk of a heart attack.
A poll of 2,000 40 to 55-year-olds by Blood Pressure UK found 43 per cent do not know the vital health data.
The charity says that five million people have high blood pressure but are unaware of it.
Dr Pauline Swift said: “We urge everyone, especially those over 40, to have a blood pressure check at home or with their GP.”
