Region gets first top-tier acute trust

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust, in the south east, has been moved from segment “two” to segment “one”, on the recommendation of the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board.

The trust is regularly in the top five in the country for achievement against the accident and emergency four-hour target, has delivered the 62-day cancer standard each month for the past three years, and has no patients waiting over 52 weeks for elective care. It has also recently been recognised for its patient flow tracking systems.

The other general acute trusts rated “one” are:

• London: Chelsea and Westminster, Homerton Healthcare, Kingston Hospital;
• North East and Yorkshire: Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, Northumbria Healthcare; and
• Midlands: South Warwickshire. 

No other general acutes are in this segment in the south east, and none in the north west or south west.

The oversight framework measures trusts and systems against a large number of performance measures but segmentation is also decided by NHS England, taking into account ICB views.

There are 34 trusts altogether in segment one, but general acutes are under-represented compared to primarily community, mental health and specialist providers.

MTW chief executive Miles Scott said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is down to the dedication, skill and team work of colleagues working across our hospitals. It is also a clear signal to the communities we care for that they can expect to receive outstanding quality care at our trust.

“While we are delighted by this news we know there is more to do and we look forward to building on the developments and improvements at MTW over the coming months and years.”

Updated at 9pm on 16 February to remove Airedale FT, which was included in error.