Today, 9th September 2025, the government has published its new list of the best and worst performing NHS hospital trusts in England.
League tables ranking the best and worst hospitals in England are not what is needed by patients, the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned.
The list, published for the first time by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), rates the performance of NHS trusts across the country, as part of what it says is an effort to raise standards.
But Dr Tom Dolphin, chair of the BMA (doctors’ union), said “Patients don’t need league tables to tell them where the NHS is struggling: they see it every day with their own eyes.”
The majority of the top 10 best-performing hospitals were specialist trusts, with Moorfields Eye Hospital in London at number one, followed by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, a single site cancer centre in Manchester, and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.
The worst performer among these acute trusts, in 134th place, was Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, which is being propped up by thousands of metal poles because of problems with its ceilings.
Acute hospital trust league table
The Best
|
1
|
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.39
|
|
2
|
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.48
|
|
3
|
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.51
|
|
4
|
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.52
|
|
5
|
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.55
|
|
6
|
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.56
|
|
7
|
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.57
|
|
8
|
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.70
|
|
9
|
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Large |
1.74
|
|
10
|
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
1.81
|
|
11
|
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
1.82
|
|
12
|
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust |
Acute – Large |
1.87
|
|
13
|
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
1.93
|
|
14
|
The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Specialist |
1.97
|
The Worst
|
127
|
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
2.97
|
|
127
|
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
2.97
|
|
129
|
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
2.98
|
|
130
|
Medway NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Medium |
2.99
|
|
130
|
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Medium |
2.99
|
|
132
|
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust |
Acute – Teaching |
3.01
|
|
133
|
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Small |
3.04
|
|
134
|
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust |
Acute – Small |
3.35
|
Other Resource
This is a recent BBC article on the league table, where you can find out where your local hospital is, in the table.
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