New data shows mass failure in the NHS

The Department of Health and Social Care has, for the first time, published new ‘league tables’ which show the current state of the NHS.

Under the new system, every trust in England will be ranked quarterly against clear, consistent standards – from urgent and emergency care to elective operations and mental health services.

Trusts will be scored into four performance segments, with the first segment representing the best performing areas and the fourth segment showing the most challenged. To enable fairer comparisons, separate league tables are published for acute, non-acute, and ambulance trusts.

Those trusts in the middle segments of the tables will be encouraged to learn from top performers to help them improve on their rankings, so they, too, will be able to financially benefit from their budget surpluses in the future.

By summer 2026, the tables will expand to cover Integrated Care Boards – NHS organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population – and wider areas of NHS performance.

The data shows that out of 134 acute hospital trusts in England, 107 – around 80% – fall into either group three or four, meaning they are not meeting key targets or are underperforming in certain areas.

More than half of these trusts, 76 in total, are classified in group three, a category that covers general hospitals offering emergency care, specialist consultations, surgical procedures, and short-term treatment.

“We must be honest about the state of the NHS to fix it. Patients and taxpayers have to know how their local NHS services are doing compared to the rest of the country,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting.

“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.”

The full list of trusts and their ranking can be found here.