HospitalCheck

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Bristol, BS1 3NU · Compare with another trust

At a glance

Whether this trust meets each official NHS operational standard — not a combined score or ranking.

Waiting times
Below NHS standard
68.9% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
68.2% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
73.2% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
9.5% waiting 6+ weeks · standard 1.0% or fewer · About this data
Mortality (SHMI)
As expected
Screening indicator, not a death rate — a prompt to investigate, not proof of poor care · About this data

In plain English

AI-generated

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust reported 29,125 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 68.2% of patients treated within four hours. In June 2026, the median waiting time for treatment was 10.7 weeks, and 68.9% of patients were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Additionally, 76% of staff in the 2025 survey said they would be happy for a friend or relative to be treated there.

Automatically generated from the official figures on this page and checked to restate only those figures. Last generated 16 August 2026. This is a plain-English summary, not medical advice. About these summaries

Hospitals run by this trust

Trust performance

Treated or seen within 18 weeks
68.9%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 4.0 pts vs yr agoBetter than 63% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
10.7 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 1.3 wks vs yr agoBetter than 67% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
50,605
National median: 39,587
▼ 4,518 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
437
National median: 358.5
▼ 322 vs yr agoBetter than 44% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
68.2%
National median: 74.2%
▼ 3.6 pts vs yr agoBetter than 23% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
29,125
National median: 14,642
▲ 10,757 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
682
National median: 194
▲ 521 vs yr agoBetter than 20% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

Latest month: July 2026· all A&E department types combined — the official headline basis.

A&E attendances
29,125
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
68.2%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
682
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
12,563
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
26,582
Seen within 4 hours
65.9%

The all-types headline above includes minor-injury units and urgent treatment centres (Type 3), which typically report much higher 4-hour performance and lift the combined figure. This narrower figure covers only the main, consultant-led A&E department— Type 1 in NHS England's classification.

Department typeAttendancesWithin 4 hours
All types (official headline)29,12568.2%
Type 1 — major A&E26,58265.9%
Type 2 — single-specialty A&E2,54391.9%

Source: NHS England A&E Attendances & Emergency Admissions. About this data

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
80.1%
1,602 of 2,001 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
73.2%
202 of 276 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
97.6%
886 of 908 treated in time
Target 96% · meets target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
75%80%85%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%73.2%75.7%April 202578.0%May 202575.0%June 202578.0%July 202578.2%August 202575.2%September 202577.2%October 202577.4%November 202576.7%December 202573.3%January 202672.2%February 202672.7%March 202676.6%April 202672.6%May 202673.2%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
75%77.5%80%82.5%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%80.1%79.4%April 202577.7%May 202578.2%June 202577.7%July 202576.9%August 202575.1%September 202578.1%October 202577.2%November 202579.3%December 202576.0%January 202681.5%February 202681.8%March 202678.7%April 202677.3%May 202680.1%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
94%96%98%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%97.6%96.9%April 202597.4%May 202596.6%June 202598.4%July 202597.7%August 202596.6%September 202596.6%October 202594.7%November 202596.6%December 202594.2%January 202696.3%February 202696.2%March 202694.0%April 202696.8%May 202697.6%June 2026

Source: NHS England Cancer Waiting Times. The 62-day standard is urgent referral to first treatment; the 28-day faster-diagnosis standard is referral to diagnosis or ruling-out. About this data

Patient experience (Friends & Family Test)

Latest month: June 2026· a voluntary, monthly feedback survey — the figure is the share of respondents who rated their experience 'good' or 'very good'. Response rates are often low and respondents are self-selected, not a representative sample, so read this alongside the clinical measures above, not on its own.

Inpatient care
% would recommend
97.6%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
0.8%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,729
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
25.1%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
87.6%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
8.2%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,298
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
9.3%
Responses as a share of those eligible

Source: NHS England Friends & Family Test. About this data

Staff experience (NHS Staff Survey)

2025 · the views of staff who work at this trust — a measure of workforce culture, morale and confidence, not a direct measure of clinical outcomes. There is no official NHS target for these figures, so they are shown as context, never a pass or fail.

Staff happy for a friend or relative to be treated here
76.0%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▲ 1.7 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
7.07
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
68.6%
Agreed · 2025

The NHS Staff Survey records the views of staff who chose to respond — a measure of workforce culture, morale and staff confidence, not a direct measure of clinical outcomes or safety. Response rates vary between trusts. England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate staff surveys on a different basis, so these figures are never compared across nations.

Source: NHS Staff Survey (NHS England), Open Government Licence. About this data

Cancelled operations

Quarter ending 30 June 2026· last-minute cancellations for NON-CLINICAL reasons (no bed, no staff, an emergency taking priority) — not cancellations chosen by the patient or on clinical grounds. It's a raw count, so larger trusts naturally cancel more in absolute terms — read this alongside the other measures above, not on its own.

Last-minute cancellations
446
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
56
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
12.6%
share of cancelled ops without a new date inside 28 days

Source: NHS England (QMCO). About this data

Bed occupancy, ambulance handovers & delayed discharges (UEC Daily SitRep)

Snapshot at 8am, 29 March 2026. This is unvalidated management information— NHS England's own label — and can be revised for up to 14 days after first publication. It is collected only during the winter Daily SitRep window, so this is the latest date the collection has published, not necessarily today. It measures operational pressure (how full the hospital is), NOT care quality — high occupancy is normal for NHS hospitals, especially in winter, and is not a safety or performance score. The ambulance-handover figures below cover winter 2025-26 as a period total(not a snapshot): the time from an ambulance arriving to the patient being handed over to A&E staff. The delayed-discharge figures cover the most recent 7 daysof the collection (not a snapshot, and not the whole winter): a patient who "no longer meets the criteria to reside" is medically ready to leave hospital, but how quickly they actually do mostly reflects social-care and community capacity to receive them — NOT the hospital's own clinical quality. A higher handover or delayed-discharge figure means more operational pressure — like the rest of this section, none of it is a measure of care quality, and it carries no colour grading, badge or ranking.

Adult general & acute bed occupancy
92.5%
786 occupied of 850 open
Adult critical care occupancy
80.0%
44 occupied of 55 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
19.5%
of 16,630 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
1.9%
of 16,630 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
0
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
100%
of 758 who no longer met the criteria to reside, week to 29 March 2026

Source: NHS England UEC Daily SitRep, Ambulance Handover and Acute Discharge SitRep collections. About this data

Never Events (patient safety)

Financial year 2025/26 · Never Events are rare, serious, wholly-preventable incidents. This is a RAW count for 2025/26— it is NOT adjusted for how much surgery the trust does, and NHS England publishes it to prompt learning, NOT to compare trusts. A higher number is a prompt to look at the trust's own review, not proof it is less safe than a trust with fewer.

Never Events reported
3
Occurring in FY 2025/26 · not a comparative safety score

Source: NHS England. About this data

Maternity — patient experience

CQC National Maternity Survey, 2025 · scores are relative comparisons against other trusts, not a measure of absolute quality — based on 125 voluntary respondents (a question is only shown here where at least 30 people at this trust answered it). A lower score is a prompt to look closer, not proof of poor care.

Response rate
39.7%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
125
Of 318 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.8/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
9.3/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
8.9/10
About the same as most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
7.0/10
About the same as most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
8.6/10
About the same as most trusts
Midwife listened to you (postnatal care at home)
9.0/10
About the same as most trusts

Source: Care Quality Commission — National Maternity Survey. About this data

Stroke care (SSNAP audit)

Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme, latest quarter to 2026· the SSNAP level (A best .. E) is the audit's own published grade for the quality of this team's acute stroke-care PROCESSES, adjusted for case-mix, case ascertainment and audit compliance — it is not a guarantee of any individual patient's outcome. England only; SSNAP also covers Wales and Northern Ireland.

Weston General Hospital
D46.4/100
West of England
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Specialist pathwayB
Therapy intensityE
Therapy frequencyE
Standards by dischargeD
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance E

This team's case ascertainment and/or audit compliance band is D or E — its SSNAP grade above rests on less-complete data than a team with a higher band, not necessarily worse care.

Source: Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (Royal College of Physicians). About this data

Hip fracture care (NHFD audit)

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust · National Hip Fracture Database, 2023audit year · "Met best-practice criteria" is the audit's own composite measure of hip-fracture care PROCESSES at each hospital this trust runs.

Weston General HospitalBest-practice 19.3%309 cases

Source: National Hip Fracture Database (Royal College of Physicians). About this data

Patient experience — inpatient care

CQC Adult Inpatient Survey, 2024 · scores are 0-10, and "better"/"worse" means the trust's score falls outside the range expected for a trust of its size (the CQC 95% expected range, centred on the national average) — a statistical-significance test, not a raw ranking. Based on 463 voluntary respondents (a question is only shown here where at least 30 people at this trust answered it). England only; response rates vary between trusts.

Response rate
38.8%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
463
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
8.1/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Cleanliness of your room or ward
8.9/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors
9.1/10
National average: 9.0/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the nurses
8.8/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Enough nurses on duty
8.0/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care and treatment
6.8/10
National average: 7.2/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough privacy when examined or treated
9.4/10
National average: 9.4/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough notice about when you would leave hospital
6.4/10
National average: 6.9/10
About the same as the national average
Knew what would happen next with your care, before leaving hospital
6.3/10
National average: 6.7/10
About the same as the national average

Source: Care Quality Commission — CQC Adult Inpatient Survey. About this data

Patient experience — A&E (urgent & emergency care)

CQC Urgent & Emergency Care Survey (A&E), 2024 · scores are 0-10, and "better"/"worse" means the trust's score falls outside the range expected for a trust of its size (the CQC 95% expected range, centred on the national average) — a statistical-significance test, not a raw ranking. Based on 277 voluntary respondents who attended a major (type 1) A&E department (a question is only shown here where at least 30 people at this trust answered it). England only; response rates vary between trusts.

Response rate
23.3%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
277
Of 1,250 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
8.0/10
National average: 7.3/10
About the same as the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
3.1/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
4.3/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
8.5/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.6/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
7.9/10
National average: 7.4/10
About the same as the national average
Test results explained before you left
8.2/10
National average: 7.5/10
Better than the national average
Felt safe around other patients
8.4/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
7.3/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.9/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average

Source: Care Quality Commission — CQC Urgent & Emergency Care Survey (A&E). About this data

Patient experience — cancer care

National Cancer Patient Experience Survey, 2025 · scores are the % of patients giving the most positive answer (and an overall 0–10 rating), and "better"/"worse" means the trust's score falls outside the range expected for a trust of its size (the survey's 95% expected range, centred on the national average) — a statistical-significance test, not a raw ranking. Based on 676 patients treated for cancer by this trust (a question is only shown here where at least 10 people at this trust answered it). England only; response rates vary between trusts.

Response rate
—
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
676
Who took part
Overall rating of care
9.0/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Cancer diagnosis explained understandably
77%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Easy to contact your main contact person
86%
National average: 84%
About the same as the national average
Involved as much as wanted in treatment decisions
79%
National average: 80%
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the team during hospital care
81%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
87%
National average: 88%
About the same as the national average
Possible side effects explained understandably
73%
National average: 74%
About the same as the national average
Given enough information about signs of cancer returning or spreading
68%
National average: 65%
About the same as the national average
The whole care team worked well together
89%
National average: 89%
About the same as the national average
Got the support needed from your GP practice since diagnosis
45%
National average: 45%
About the same as the national average

Source: NHS England (survey run by Picker on its behalf) — National Cancer Patient Experience Survey. About this data

Hip & knee replacement — patient outcomes (PROMs)

Financial year 2024-25(finalised) · patients having a primary hip or knee replacement voluntarily score their health before and after surgery. The average gain shown is adjusted for differences between patients (case-mix) — it is not a raw before/after difference and not a ranking, so read it alongside the patient numbers.

Hip replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
23.0
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 24.3
Patients
38
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
94.7%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.51
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale
Knee replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
15.5
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 17.1
Patients
47
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
91.5%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.28
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale

Source: NHS England PROMs (hip & knee replacement). About this data

Diagnostic test waits

Latest month: June 2026. The operational standard is that under 1% should wait more than 6 weeks.

Waiting 6+ weeks for a test
9.5%
of 16,549 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Neurophysiology33426.6%890
Colonoscopy46820.7%9710
Gastroscopy50417.3%8718
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy15815.8%250
Ultrasound4,92612.0%59217
Respiratory physiology25910.8%285
MRI3,9658.2%32728
Audiology1,3497.6%1021
CT scan2,9316.9%2030
DEXA Scan6364.1%261
Cardiology1,0190.3%32
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
10%15%Apr 25Jan 269.5%17.8%April 202517.3%May 202516.5%June 202514.1%July 202514.7%August 202514.1%September 202512.7%October 202511.5%November 202511.4%December 202513.0%January 20269.4%February 20269.8%March 202610.8%April 20268.9%May 20269.5%June 2026

Source: NHS England Diagnostic Waiting Times & Activity (DM01). About this data

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
0.87
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 2,310 deaths vs 2,665 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
0.901.001.10Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)0.871.05December 20181.07January 20191.07February 20191.08March 20191.06April 20191.06May 20191.05June 20191.06July 20191.06August 20191.03September 20191.03October 20191.02November 20191.00December 20190.98January 20200.97February 20200.96March 20200.97April 20200.96May 20200.96June 20200.96July 20200.94August 20200.95September 20200.90October 20200.93November 20200.93December 20200.94January 20210.94February 20210.96March 20210.95April 20210.96May 20210.96June 20210.97July 20210.98August 20211.00September 20211.00October 20210.99November 20210.99December 20211.00January 20220.99February 20220.99March 20221.00April 20221.00May 20221.00June 20220.99July 20220.99August 20220.97September 20220.99October 20221.01November 20221.00December 20220.98January 20230.99February 20230.97March 20230.96April 20230.95May 20230.95June 20230.96July 20230.94August 20230.94September 20230.93October 20230.93November 20230.92December 20230.93January 20240.91February 20240.92March 20240.93April 20240.93May 20240.93June 20240.91July 20240.91August 20240.90September 20240.90October 20240.89November 20240.89December 20240.88January 20250.89February 20250.88March 20250.88April 20250.87May 20250.86June 20250.87July 20250.87August 20250.88September 20250.88October 20250.88November 20250.87December 20250.88January 20260.88February 20260.87March 2026

The SHMI compares the number of deaths after hospital care with the number expected given patients' characteristics. It is not a death rate and a higher value is a prompt to investigate, not proof of poor care. Source: NHS England. About this data

Waiting times by specialty

Data: June 2026 · Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment statistics (incomplete pathways)

SpecialtyWaitingWithin 18 wksMedian wait9 in 10 wait under52+ wks65+ wks78+ wks
Other - Paediatrics9,54259.3%14.0 wks44.2 wks34500
Ophthalmology6,73775.9%7.9 wks30.8 wks300
Ear Nose and Throat5,39668.4%11.0 wks34.8 wks000
Other - Medicals5,02877.2%9.2 wks28.9 wks600
Other - Surgicals4,53869.2%10.3 wks36.5 wks4100
Cardiology4,53758.8%14.8 wks40.3 wks1500
Gynaecology3,67662.0%13.3 wks38.9 wks2400
Oral Surgery2,54770.3%11.5 wks30.7 wks000
Dermatology2,35987.2%7.0 wks21.6 wks000
Trauma and Orthopaedic1,69367.6%12.6 wks30.7 wks200
Respiratory Medicine1,36373.7%9.8 wks36.3 wks000
Gastroenterology97765.3%10.8 wks38.1 wks000
Neurology62672.7%9.6 wks31.5 wks100
Rheumatology55596.8%4.5 wks13.1 wks000
Cardiothoracic Surgery39471.1%10.6 wks28.2 wks000
Other - Others29279.8%1.7 wks31.5 wks000
Elderly Medicine20190.5%6.4 wks19.5 wks000
General Surgery11176.6%8.4 wks27.6 wks000
Other - Mental Healths32100.0%3.9 wks10.1 wks000
General Internal Medicine1100.0%14.5 wks14.9 wks000

Figures come from NHS England's official monthly statistics and the CQC directory, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See methodology for definitions.