Report reveals fewer hospitals receiving top rating

Fewer UK hospitals are receiving excellent ratings, according to the latest annual star ratings report from the Healthcare Commission.

The latest figures showed that there was a drop in the number of acute hospital trusts achieving the top three-star rating for the first time in four years.

The report found there were increases in the number of three-star ratings awarded to primary care, mental health and ambulance trusts. However, there were still only 19% of primary care trusts and a quarter of mental health trusts with three-star ratings. 12 out of 31 ambulance trusts also still had zero or one-star ratings, despite a 10% increase in three-star ratings.

The NHS watchdog also found that many trusts are struggling to balance their finances. The report showed that almost a quarter of all trusts, including a third of hospital trusts, failed to achieve financial balance for the year 2004/2005, resulting in a total overspend of £500 million.

Hospitals were also found to be struggling to meet government targets.

All trusts met the national accident and emergency target, which required 90% of patients to wait less than four hours. However, when the target was raised to 98% in the last three months of the year, 62 out of 159 acute trust failed to meet the target.

However, the ratings also showed that there had been a drop in death rates from cancer, stroke and heart disease, while improvements had also been made in reducing cases of MRSA.

Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: “The NHS is improving against tougher targets. The overall improvement in performance this year should not be underestimated. Today the targets are a lot tougher, but despite this many trusts are rising to the challenge.”

However, Ms Walker admitted that financial performance was “the fly in the ointment”. She said: “Quality of care is inextricably linked to good financial management. Temporary instability must not lead to a permanent problem. If it does, patients will lose out because the standards of care will suffer."

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “ NHS finances are close to meltdown. The government have imposed costs on the NHS and wasted money on bureaucracy, rather than spending it on front-line care.

“The result will be major reductions in services in many parts of the country. Until we have genuine reform of the NHS, services will not grow to meet the standards we all aspire to.”

This is the final year that the Commission will rate performance using the current star ratings system. Next year, the inspectorate will rate trusts by reference to its new annual health check, which aims to give a more comprehensive picture of NHS performance.

(KMcA/SP)