Britain's best and worst performing hospitals have been revealed today in a new Government scheme aimed at cracking down on poor performing facilities.
The move, which Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said will "end the postcode lottery" of care, gives powers to the Department of Health and Social Care to reduce the pay of senior managers at NHS trusts that are persistently ranked poorly.
The tables categorise trusts into four segments, with top hospitals being given greater freedoms and investment, according to the DHSC.
It is the first time the Government has allowed patients to see which hospitals are ranked below standard, including ambulance services and mental health care.
NHS leaders will also be offered extra pay to improve low-performing trusts.
It is the latest step in the Government's efforts to reform Britain's healthcare system.
In March, the Government announced NHS England, the administrative body which manages how health services up and down the country are run, would be abolished to "cut bureaucracy".
Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust was the worst-performing large hospital, followed by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, according to the new figures.
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The worst performing hospitals across England have been revealed today in a new Government scheme aimed at cracking down on poor performing facilities
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The official NHS league table showed that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust and Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were the worst-performing small hospital trusts.
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was ranked the lowest for community hospitals.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government must be honest about the state of the NHS to fix it.
Mr Streeting said: "Patients and taxpayers have to know how their local NHS services are doing compared to the rest of the country.
"These league tables will identify where urgent support is needed and allow high-performing areas to share best practices with others, taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS."
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government must be honest about the state of the NHS to fix it
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He added: "Patients know when local services aren’t up to scratch, and they want to see an end to the postcode lottery - that’s what this Government is doing.
"We’re combining the extra £26billion investment each year with tough reforms to get value for money, with every pound helping to cut waiting times for patients."
By summer 2026, the tables will expand to cover the NHS organisations responsible for planning health services for locals, known as integrated care boards.
The best NHS leaders will be offered higher pay to take on the toughest jobs at challenged services, the DHSC added.
The best NHS leaders will be offered higher pay to take on the toughest jobs at challenged services, the DHSC added
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The majority of the top 10 best-performing hospitals were specialist trusts, with Moorfields Eye Hospital taking top spot, followed by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
The best-performing large hospital trust is Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which ranked at number nine.
Mr Streeting told GB News: "Would rather that the well-informed, sharp-elbowed, middle and middle-class intellectuals of this country have access to the information, but not normal people? That just doesn't wash for me.
"We all know because people are experiencing it all the time, that there is a wide variation in the performance of different NHS hospitals, indeed different NHS services within hospitals."
The NHS acute trust league table shows Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with a score of 1.39
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He added: "We saw that put starkly by Macmillan just the other week in terms of cancer care, and I believe very strongly that if we're serious about turning around the NHS and if we're serious about making sure that every patient in every part of the country gets access to high-quality care every time, then sunlight is the best disinfectant.
"You don't tackle problems and challenges by pretending that they don't exist.
"That's why these tables are so important, because they do set out the information.
The Health and Social Care Secretary explained that the Government has used a "wide range of metrics, from the sort of data that your viewers will be used to seeing reported on, things like NHS waiting times or ambulance response times, right through to the sorts of data that doesn't get published so much on things like the NHS staff survey."