HospitalCheck

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Canterbury, CT1 3NG · 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
56.1% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
73.7% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
68.7% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
44.8% 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

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust reported 27,347 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 73.7% of patients seen within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 82,363 patients on its waiting list, and 56.1% were seen within 18 weeks of referral.

Automatically generated from the official figures on this page and checked to restate only those figures. Last generated 19 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
56.1%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 1.1 pts vs yr agoBetter than 2% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
15.5 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 0.4 wks vs yr agoBetter than 2% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
82,363
National median: 39,587
▲ 1,674 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
2,462
National median: 358.5
▲ 240 vs yr agoBetter than 3% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
73.7%
National median: 74.2%
▼ 2.8 pts vs yr agoBetter than 47% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
27,347
National median: 14,642
▲ 1,058 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
1,074
National median: 194
▼ 121 vs yr agoBetter than 6% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
27,347
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
73.7%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
1,074
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
4,180
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
13,584
Seen within 4 hours
52.7%

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)27,34773.7%
Type 1 — major A&E13,58452.7%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC13,76394.5%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
67.6%
3,036 of 4,490 treated in time
Target 75% · below target
Treatment within 62 days
68.7%
309 of 449 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
97.2%
663 of 682 treated in time
Target 96% · meets target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%68.7%76.1%April 202575.6%May 202572.3%June 202578.7%July 202577.1%August 202568.5%September 202573.0%October 202567.7%November 202570.7%December 202564.0%January 202666.1%February 202670.9%March 202668.0%April 202669.4%May 202668.7%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
65%70%75%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%67.6%75.0%April 202574.9%May 202576.8%June 202576.9%July 202574.8%August 202571.6%September 202571.2%October 202575.1%November 202571.9%December 202566.7%January 202675.6%February 202673.3%March 202664.4%April 202669.5%May 202667.6%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
94%96%98%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%97.2%96.8%April 202595.7%May 202595.8%June 202597.5%July 202596.7%August 202597.6%September 202597.3%October 202596.1%November 202597.1%December 202593.6%January 202695.3%February 202696.0%March 202695.9%April 202696.5%May 202697.2%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
90.0%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
5.8%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
633
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
15.8%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
81.2%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
12.3%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
2,816
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
12.0%
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
44.4%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 1.6 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.22
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
40.3%
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
273
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
20.5%
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
93.4%
903 occupied of 967 open
Adult critical care occupancy
53.2%
25 occupied of 47 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
6.1%
of 23,117 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
0.3%
of 23,117 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
165
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
38%
of 1,851 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
8
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 132 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
31.4%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
132
Of 422 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.9/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
9.1/10
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)
7.6/10
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)
8.8/10
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.

East Kent ASU
D48.9/100
Kent and Medway
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentC
Specialist pathwayC
ReperfusionC
MDT assessmentC
Therapy intensityD
Therapy frequencyD
Standards by dischargeC
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance D

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.

East Kent HASU
B77.5/100
Kent and Medway
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentA
Specialist pathwayB
ReperfusionC
MDT assessmentA
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyC
Standards by dischargeB
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital
E35.0/100
Kent and Medway
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentE
Specialist pathwayE
ReperfusionE
MDT assessmentE
Therapy intensityE
Therapy frequencyC
Standards by dischargeC
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A

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

Hip fracture care (NHFD audit)

East Kent Hospitals University 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.

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother HospitalBest-practice 47.6%533 cases
William Harvey HospitalBest-practice 73.4%513 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 537 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
46.0%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
537
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
7.9/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Cleanliness of your room or ward
8.7/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors
8.9/10
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
7.2/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care and treatment
6.9/10
National average: 7.2/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough privacy when examined or treated
9.3/10
National average: 9.4/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough notice about when you would leave hospital
6.6/10
National average: 6.9/10
About the same as the national average
Knew what would happen next with your care, before leaving hospital
6.7/10
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 350 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
38.3%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
350
Of 950 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
6.6/10
National average: 7.3/10
About the same as the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
1.7/10
National average: 2.6/10
Worse than the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
2.5/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
7.7/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
7.5/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
6.7/10
National average: 7.4/10
Worse than the national average
Test results explained before you left
6.8/10
National average: 7.5/10
Worse than the national average
Felt safe around other patients
7.0/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
5.8/10
National average: 6.8/10
Worse than the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
7.4/10
National average: 8.3/10
Worse than 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 919 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
919
Who took part
Overall rating of care
8.8/10
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
82%
National average: 84%
About the same as the national average
Involved as much as wanted in treatment decisions
76%
National average: 80%
Worse than the national average
Confidence and trust in the team during hospital care
77%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
85%
National average: 88%
About the same as the national average
Possible side effects explained understandably
71%
National average: 74%
About the same as the national average
Given enough information about signs of cancer returning or spreading
65%
National average: 65%
About the same as the national average
The whole care team worked well together
86%
National average: 89%
Worse than the national average
Got the support needed from your GP practice since diagnosis
41%
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)
23.9
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 23.9
Patients
134
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
98.5%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.46
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale
Knee replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
17.2
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 17.2
Patients
134
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
94.0%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.32
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
44.8%
of 37,444 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Barium Enema72281.3%587493
Urodynamics20073.0%14675
Neurophysiology5972.9%432
Ultrasound10,97255.5%6,0843,320
MRI13,05946.0%6,0011,333
Respiratory physiology1,10938.4%42628
CT scan8,47636.8%3,1161,105
Cardiology41720.4%856
Gastroscopy54316.2%8841
DEXA Scan78115.9%1242
Colonoscopy5469.0%4914
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy1945.7%112
Audiology860.0%00
Cystoscopy2790.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
20%30%40%Apr 25Jan 2644.8%17.1%April 202516.8%May 202518.5%June 202520.4%July 202525.9%August 202523.6%September 202528.2%October 202527.8%November 202535.2%December 202539.6%January 202635.9%February 202638.5%March 202646.1%April 202644.2%May 202644.8%June 2026

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

Safety: infections

Cases in the 12 months to July 2026. Hospital-onset cases are those most likely acquired in hospital.

InfectionCases (12 mo)Hospital-onset
MRSA bacteraemia62
C. difficile22669
E. coli bacteraemia537106
MSSA bacteraemia17850
Klebsiella bacteraemia17736
Pseudomonas bacteraemia6534
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
10203040Dec 23Jan 25Jan 261832December 202324January 202429February 202425March 202421April 202417May 202425June 202433July 202427August 202441September 202422October 202422November 202435December 202433January 202531February 202533March 202523April 202519May 202519June 202521July 202524August 202535September 202528October 202529November 202515December 202539January 202620February 202632March 202626April 202619May 202612June 202618July 2026

Source: UK Health Security Agency mandatory surveillance. About this data

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
1.15
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 3,320 deaths vs 2,900 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
0.801.001.20Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)1.151.08December 20181.07January 20191.08February 20191.09March 20191.09April 20191.09May 20191.09June 20191.09July 20191.09August 20191.09September 20191.08October 20191.08November 20191.07December 20191.07January 20201.07February 20201.07March 20201.07April 20201.07May 20201.06June 20201.05July 20201.05August 20201.06September 20201.05October 20201.05November 20201.05December 20201.04January 20211.04February 20211.05March 20211.05April 20211.04May 20211.04June 20211.03July 20211.03August 20211.02September 20211.02October 20211.02November 20211.02December 20211.02January 20221.02February 20221.00March 20220.99April 20221.00May 20221.01June 20221.02July 20221.01August 20221.02September 20221.03October 20221.04November 20221.02December 20221.04January 20231.04February 20231.07March 20231.07April 20231.08May 20231.07June 20231.07July 20231.07August 20230.68September 20230.96October 20230.96November 20231.11December 20231.12January 20241.07February 20241.05March 20241.06April 20241.05May 20241.13June 20241.13July 20241.13August 20241.14September 20241.14October 20241.14November 20241.13December 20241.11January 20251.13February 20251.13March 20251.12April 20251.11May 20251.13June 20251.12July 20251.12August 20251.13September 20251.14October 20251.14November 20251.14December 20251.15January 20261.14February 20261.15March 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
Ear Nose and Throat9,24347.0%19.1 wks44.8 wks24840
General Surgery8,42857.8%14.3 wks48.1 wks477223
Trauma and Orthopaedic8,10045.5%20.0 wks45.9 wks24362
Gynaecology6,63058.1%14.8 wks38.8 wks3800
Other - Surgicals5,78553.5%16.4 wks44.0 wks11861
Dermatology5,50073.4%9.5 wks30.1 wks900
Ophthalmology5,47462.6%12.4 wks41.9 wks15921
Cardiology5,30251.9%17.2 wks56.8 wks6591104
Gastroenterology5,23562.3%14.1 wks36.5 wks4800
Respiratory Medicine4,91350.5%17.8 wks39.6 wks5500
Oral Surgery4,57133.6%25.1 wks51.2 wks315120
Urology4,47374.9%10.1 wks30.3 wks600
Rheumatology2,96942.2%21.8 wks45.7 wks5220
Other - Medicals2,95267.6%11.6 wks32.3 wks2510
Neurology1,51875.9%11.2 wks30.8 wks500
Other - Paediatrics73298.9%3.3 wks9.0 wks000
Elderly Medicine33187.0%7.2 wks21.3 wks000
Other - Others17654.5%12.5 wks39.9 wks400
General Internal Medicine2875.0%11.7 wks36.8 wks111
Cardiothoracic Surgery366.7%11.5 wks20.8 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.