Manchester NHS trust surges into England's top 20 in new league tables

A hospital trust in Greater Manchester has been named among England's best performers after a huge leap in the latest NHS league tables.

MFT's dramatic rise

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) has climbed 46 places from 65th to 19th in the latest rankings of NHS trusts in England, published on Thursday (June 11). The dramatic rise sees MFT break into England's top 20 and earn a 'high performing' rating. The trust runs some of the region's biggest hospitals, including Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, Saint Mary's Hospital and Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Health Secretary James Murray said MFT's improvement showed how investment in the NHS was making 'real progress for patients'. He added that the trust had reduced inequalities, strengthened community services, cut waiting lists and delivered some of the fastest ambulance handover times in the North West.

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The Christie retains high ranking

Another Greater Manchester trust, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, retained its place among the country's best-performing NHS trusts, rising from third to second in the rankings. The specialist cancer centre was beaten only by Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge.

How the rankings work

The NHS trust league tables were first introduced last September and are published every three months. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the rankings would help patients understand how their local services are performing and encourage improvement across the NHS. The rankings assess trusts across seven key performance areas, including waiting times for operations, cancer treatment targets, A&E performance and ambulance response times. Financial performance is also taken into account, meaning trusts delivering good clinical care can still be marked down if they are running larger-than-expected deficits - and trusts facing financial difficulties cannot be ranked higher than segment three, out of four performance segments.

Performance of other Greater Manchester trusts

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Fairfield General Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, Royal Oldham Hospital and Salford Royal Hospital, was rated 'low performing' and ranked 111th out of 134 trusts. However, it improved slightly from 115th in the previous quarter. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust was ranked 63rd and placed in the 'below average and/or financial deficit' category, improving from 76th. Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust was ranked 43rd, down slightly from 40th, while Stockport NHS Foundation Trust slipped from 45th to 48th. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust also improved significantly, climbing from 117th to 99th, although it remained in the 'below average and/or financial deficit' category.

Government response

Commenting on MFT's jump in the table, Mr Murray said: 'Almost two years ago, this government made a promise to get waiting lists down, improve access to care and repair the shocking state our NHS was found in. And we are doing just that. We have delivered the biggest improvement in NHS waiting times for 16 years, and behind those numbers are hundreds of thousands of patients getting treated faster, getting back to work, back to family life, and no longer waiting in pain or uncertainty.'

'Last year, we published NHS league tables for the first time, helping patients understand how their local trust is performing and hold leaders to account for improving services. Trusts like Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) are pioneering the way forward, showing how this government's record investment in the NHS is being translated into real progress for patients.'

'Demonstrating sustained improvements in urgent and emergency care access, MFT is a prime example of what the NHS can be and what the NHS should be. It's not only been improving health outcomes, but also reducing inequalities, strengthening community services and delivering more integrated care across the board - cutting waiting lists and delivering some of the fastest ambulance handover times in the North West. Its electronic patient record system also means that staff can access vital information safely and securely wherever they are. The results locally have been impressive.'

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'While much has been achieved, there is more to do - and we are giving local organisations the tools to deliver world-class care. Seeing improvements like we are in Manchester gives me confidence for the future - as we continue our work to deliver a health service we can all be proud of.'

Top 20 and bottom 10 NHS trusts

Top 20 NHS trusts in England:

Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

Bottom 10 NHS trusts in England: No Greater Manchester trusts featured among the 20 lowest-ranked NHS organisations in England. The lowest-ranked NHS trusts in the latest league tables (from highest to lowest) were: