NHS league tables won't help patients, say experts

The government has published “league tables” for NHS hospitals in England for the first time.

- REBECCA THOMAS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said the quarterly rankings will pinpoint where urgent support is needed and help end the “postcode lottery” of care for patients.

But experts have questioned the helpfulness of the tables, warning that hospital performance is “not as simple as good or bad”. Experts at think tanks including the King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust have warned the new tables are of “questionable” and of “limited” use to patients.

Among the lowest ranked hospitals is Lucy Letby’s former trust, The Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust.

The rankings score trusts based on a range of measures, including finances and patient access to care, as well as bringing down waiting times for operations and A&E, and improving ambulance response times.

The list is divided into three sections: acute trusts, non-acute trusts (mental health, learning disability and community), and ambulance trusts. The lower the score, the better the performance.