HospitalCheck

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Blackburn, BB2 3HH · 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
72.0% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
79.2% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
75.4% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
4.3% waiting 6+ weeks · standard 1.0% or fewer · About this data
Mortality (SHMI)
Higher than 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 Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust reported 26,251 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 79.2% of patients treated within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 47,172 patients on its waiting list, and 72% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Additionally, 47.5% of staff felt happy for a friend or relative to be treated there in the 2025 survey.

Automatically generated from the official figures on this page and checked to restate only those figures. Last generated 20 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
72.0%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 11.3 pts vs yr agoBetter than 75% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
9.5 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 3.9 wks vs yr agoBetter than 79% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
47,172
National median: 39,587
▼ 11,015 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
224
National median: 358.5
▼ 1,986 vs yr agoBetter than 59% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
79.2%
National median: 74.2%
▼ 0.1 pts vs yr agoBetter than 72% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
26,251
National median: 14,642
▲ 87 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
855
National median: 194
▲ 147 vs yr agoBetter than 12% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
26,251
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
79.2%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
855
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
6,179
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
14,366
Seen within 4 hours
68.2%

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)26,25179.2%
Type 1 — major A&E14,36668.2%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC11,88592.5%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
78.8%
1,984 of 2,517 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
75.4%
191 of 253 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
95.7%
419 of 438 treated in time
Target 96% · below target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%75.4%78.2%April 202571.9%May 202575.7%June 202566.2%July 202575.2%August 202576.3%September 202573.0%October 202572.4%November 202575.1%December 202571.7%January 202666.6%February 202670.5%March 202666.7%April 202669.5%May 202675.4%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
70%75%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%78.8%76.6%April 202571.7%May 202573.3%June 202573.3%July 202568.7%August 202571.7%September 202578.4%October 202577.4%November 202579.0%December 202576.1%January 202682.9%February 202680.0%March 202675.4%April 202677.9%May 202678.8%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
94%96%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%95.7%93.9%April 202595.3%May 202595.5%June 202594.4%July 202595.9%August 202596.5%September 202596.2%October 202595.6%November 202594.6%December 202595.4%January 202697.0%February 202696.6%March 202696.0%April 202693.6%May 202695.7%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
97.0%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
1.1%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,504
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
33.8%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
67.4%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
23.5%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,702
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
9.6%
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
47.5%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff SurveyMedian English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.32
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
44.4%
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
171
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
24
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
14.0%
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
97.5%
672 occupied of 689 open
Adult critical care occupancy
71.4%
20 occupied of 28 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
24.2%
of 14,492 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
3.5%
of 14,492 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
76
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
51%
of 1,074 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 115 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
26.4%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
115
Of 437 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.3/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
8.6/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
8.6/10
About the same as most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
7.4/10
About the same as most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
8.4/10
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.

Pendle Community Hospital - Marsden Stroke Unit
B74.0/100
Lancashire and South Cumbria
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Specialist pathwayA
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyD
Standards by dischargeB
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A
Royal Blackburn Hospital
D56.2/100
Lancashire and South Cumbria
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentB
Specialist pathwayD
ReperfusionD
MDT assessmentA
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyD
Standards by dischargeB
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A

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

Hip fracture care (NHFD audit)

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS 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.

Royal Blackburn HospitalBest-practice 29.3%532 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 470 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
39.8%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
470
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
7.7/10
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
8.9/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Enough nurses on duty
7.1/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care and treatment
7.0/10
National average: 7.2/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough privacy when examined or treated
9.0/10
National average: 9.4/10
Worse than the national average
Given enough notice about when you would leave hospital
6.9/10
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 209 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
23.1%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
209
Of 950 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
6.0/10
National average: 7.3/10
Worse than the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
1.9/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
2.8/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
7.0/10
National average: 8.3/10
Worse than the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
6.8/10
National average: 8.1/10
Worse than the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
6.1/10
National average: 7.4/10
Worse than the national average
Test results explained before you left
6.5/10
National average: 7.5/10
Worse than the national average
Felt safe around other patients
6.6/10
National average: 7.8/10
Worse than the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
5.5/10
National average: 6.8/10
Worse than the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
7.2/10
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 560 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
560
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
78%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Easy to contact your main contact person
83%
National average: 84%
About the same as the national average
Involved as much as wanted in treatment decisions
80%
National average: 80%
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the team during hospital care
76%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
89%
National average: 88%
About the same as the national average
Possible side effects explained understandably
74%
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
88%
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)
20.9
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 21.8
Patients
66
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
97.0%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.42
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale
Knee replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
18.2
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 17.9
Patients
113
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
94.7%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.34
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
4.3%
of 14,503 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Urodynamics16123.6%3810
Cystoscopy20422.5%4615
Audiology33113.9%461
Ultrasound6,2315.4%3367
DEXA Scan4724.4%2110
MRI2,2404.1%911
Neurophysiology1712.3%42
Colonoscopy9062.2%208
Gastroscopy7921.9%159
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy1210.8%11
Respiratory physiology2820.4%11
Cardiology8930.2%20
CT scan1,6400.2%30
Barium Enema590.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
5%10%Apr 25Jan 264.3%1.5%April 20251.9%May 20251.6%June 20251.8%July 20251.9%August 20251.4%September 20251.5%October 20251.5%November 20251.6%December 20251.7%January 20261.7%February 20265.0%March 202612.5%April 20266.2%May 20264.3%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 bacteraemia72
C. difficile15371
E. coli bacteraemia34871
MSSA bacteraemia14338
Klebsiella bacteraemia10732
Pseudomonas bacteraemia177
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
102030Dec 23Jan 25Jan 261819December 202321January 202428February 202423March 202422April 202421May 202417June 202425July 202423August 202420September 202424October 202425November 202426December 202421January 202515February 202512March 202511April 202516May 202523June 202519July 202515August 202523September 202516October 202521November 202516December 202523January 202615February 202622March 202618April 202617May 202617June 202618July 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

Higher than expected
1.28
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 2,515 deaths vs 1,965 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
1.001.20Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)1.281.05December 20181.05January 20191.04February 20191.05March 20191.04April 20191.04May 20191.04June 20191.03July 20191.03August 20191.02September 20191.03October 20191.04November 20191.07December 20191.07January 20201.08February 20201.07March 20201.06April 20201.07May 20201.08June 20201.09July 20201.09August 20201.10September 20201.10October 20201.09November 20201.07December 20201.08January 20211.08February 20211.09March 20211.09April 20211.09May 20211.07June 20211.07July 20211.06August 20211.06September 20211.06October 20211.05November 20211.06December 20211.05January 20221.04February 20221.05March 20221.05April 20221.05May 20221.04June 20221.04July 20221.05August 20221.04September 20221.05October 20221.07November 20221.07December 20221.09January 20231.11February 20231.09March 20231.11April 20231.12May 20231.15June 20231.16July 20231.17August 20231.20September 20231.12October 20231.15November 20231.16December 20231.25January 20241.28February 20241.32March 20241.35April 20241.32May 20241.31June 20241.32July 20241.32August 20241.31September 20241.30October 20241.28November 20241.28December 20241.27January 20251.25February 20251.21March 20251.20April 20251.19May 20251.23June 20251.21July 20251.21August 20251.21September 20251.23October 20251.24November 20251.26December 20251.25January 20261.27February 20261.28March 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
Gynaecology6,96259.7%14.2 wks38.7 wks12700
Trauma and Orthopaedic6,76178.9%7.2 wks31.7 wks1100
Ophthalmology4,35867.2%10.8 wks37.5 wks3700
Oral Surgery3,96359.5%13.4 wks43.1 wks4500
Ear Nose and Throat3,59881.2%7.4 wks28.7 wks000
Other - Medicals3,54375.2%10.3 wks29.2 wks100
General Surgery3,12260.6%13.6 wks40.1 wks100
Other - Surgicals2,98070.9%7.7 wks37.6 wks100
Gastroenterology2,26989.6%7.0 wks19.3 wks000
Urology2,23179.4%8.0 wks25.8 wks000
Dermatology2,11262.0%13.4 wks37.1 wks000
Cardiology2,05588.2%7.8 wks19.9 wks000
Other - Paediatrics1,51983.6%8.9 wks21.4 wks000
Rheumatology87868.5%10.8 wks33.4 wks110
Respiratory Medicine69096.7%3.8 wks14.5 wks000
Elderly Medicine73100.0%2.3 wks5.6 wks000
Other - Others5498.1%4.2 wks13.6 wks000
General Internal Medicine475.0%12.0 wks18.7 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.