New rankings evaluate NHS acute, non-acute and ambulance trusts across England
13:06, 10 Sep 2025Updated 14:34, 10 Sep 2025
League tables on hospital performance in England have been published(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The best and worst performing NHS trusts in Greater Manchester have been revealed as part of a new ‘league table’ initiative.
The new rankings, which were released on Tuesday, evaluate NHS acute, non-acute and ambulance trusts across England – looking at various criteria, including financial performance and patient access to treatment, alongside reducing surgical waiting lists and A&E delays, plus enhancing ambulance response times.
Acute trusts provide hospital-based care offering services such as A&E, inpatient and outpatient treatment and surgery, and specialist care, whereas non-acute services are for maintenance or long-term care.
According to the league table, the highest rated acute trust out of the seven in Greater Manchester is The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, which is third nationally. The trust runs The Christie cancer centre in south Manchester.
The Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Bolton Hospital, and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Tameside General Hospital, were next, placed joint 59th nationally.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is on the table ranked in 71st place. The trust runs North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, North Manchester General Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital, University Dental Hospital of Manchester and Withington Community Hospital.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is the top rated acute trust in Greater Manchester(Image: MEN MEDIA)
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital, is next in 86th place. Wrightington, Wigan And Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wrightington Hospital and Leigh Infirmary, is next in 92nd place.
The lowest-rated Greater Manchester acute trust is The Northern Care Alliance Trust, which runs Salford Royal, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary, which was placed in 116th place out of 134.
In the second, non-acute table, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust was rated one of the lowest in England – placed at 58 out of 61.
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust came in much higher at 35 out of 60 in the non-acute rankings.
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS), which covers Greater Manchester, was the top-rated ambulance trust in England.
The Northern Care Alliance Trust, which runs Oldham Royal, was 116 out of 134 in the new NHS league table(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The leading acute hospital across England is London’s Moorfield Eye Hospital’s trust, with the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust, also located in the capital, taking second place.
The lowest rated acute trust is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust at 134th place, with Countess Of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust second last at 133rd.
The launch of the quarterly tables was announced in November and top performers will be given greater freedoms and funding.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “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.”
Trusts in mid-table will be encouraged to learn from trusts at the top to help them improve their rankings.
Senior managers at trusts that are persistently ranked poorly could see their pay docked, while NHS leaders will have extra pay incentives to go into challenged trusts and turn them around.
What Greater Manchester NHS trusts had to say
A spokesperson for The Christie said: “The Christie NHS Foundation Trust has been placed in segment 1 of the NHS Oversight Framework, which is the highest level of assurance possible under this national system.
“We welcome this recognition, but we know that the framework is just one measure of how well we are doing and that there are always areas where we can do better for our patients.
“That’s why our focus remains on listening to patients, continually improving the care we provide, and making progress on the priorities that matter to them.”
They added: “The government’s aim in publishing the NHS Oversight Framework is to improve transparency for patients and the public, and drive accountability across the health service.
“We are proud of the dedication of all our excellent staff, whatever their role at The Christie, who work incredibly hard day in, day out, to do so much for our patients.
“As an organisation we will never stop striving to deliver the very best cancer treatment and care for our patients.”
A spokesperson for NWAS said: “We hope the public will be reassured to know how hard staff are working to improve the service they receive when they call 999.
“Over the last 2 years, we have significantly increased the number of ambulances on the road and collaborated closely with our hospital partners in the region to lessen handover delays, as well as develop the way we work in our control rooms. All of which have helped reduce the time it takes to get to the people who need us and improve the care we provide.
“However, we know this needs to go further, with planning also well underway to manage the traditional challenges we face over winter.”
A spokesperson for MFT said: “We are pleased about the improvements our teams have made in a number of areas over recent months, but we know there is more to do.
They added: “We are committed to providing safe, high-quality care and are working hard to make sustained improvements for our patients, colleagues, and residents.”
James Mawrey, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief People Officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are grateful for all feedback, and use it as an opportunity to improve our care wherever possible.
“There are areas we perform well, although there is always more we can do, and we will continue to work hard with our partners to provide the highest quality care to our patients.”
A Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “As a Trust, there are several areas where we are performing very well, particularly around ensuring patients have quick access to elective surgery, diagnostics and cancer treatment.
“There are also some areas where we know we can do better, and we are focusing on improving our performance in these areas in order to deliver the best care possible for our patients and community.”
A spokesperson for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are doing outstanding work in some areas but clearly need to improve in others.
“We are absolutely committed to this and have plans in place which will hopefully help us achieve the best possible score going forward – and help deliver the best possible care for patients.”
Karen Howell, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), said: “GMMH continues to be in the Recovery Support Programme, so the published position is expected however, we have solid plans in place and are continuing to make improvements to move us from recovery into business as usual.
“Professor Oliver Shanley OBE is currently conducting the second part of his Assurance Review, which we are welcoming and supporting to ensure he is well-sighted on the changes we have made across the Trust.
“We are committed to improving our performance and will continue working with our service users, their families, our staff and partners to build on the positive changes already made to create the conditions in which our staff can deliver care safely and our service users receive high quality care.”
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Wrightington, Wigan And Leigh NHS Foundation Trust and The Northern Care Alliance Trust were approached for comment.
Where Greater Manchester acute hospital trusts ranked (out of 134)3: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust – The Christie59: Bolton NHS Foundation Trust – Royal Bolton Hospital59: Tameside And Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust – Tameside General Hospital71: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, North Manchester General Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital, University Dental Hospital of Manchester and Withington Community Hospital86: Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – Stepping Hill Hospital92: Wrightington, Wigan And Leigh NHS Foundation Trust – Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wrightington Hospital and Leigh Infirmary116: The Northern Care Alliance Trust – Salford Royal, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary,