HospitalCheck

East Suffolk And North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Colchester, CO4 5JL · 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
61.5% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
76.1% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
65.6% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
11.1% 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 Suffolk And North Essex NHS Foundation Trust reported 26,297 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 76.1% of patients seen within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 89,763 patients on its waiting list, and 61.5% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Staff survey results from 2025 showed that 54.2% would recommend the trust to friends or family.

Automatically generated from the official figures on this page and checked to restate only those figures. Last generated 17 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
61.5%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 5.0 pts vs yr agoBetter than 19% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
13.7 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 1.5 wks vs yr agoBetter than 18% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
89,763
National median: 39,587
▼ 2,287 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
63
National median: 358.5
▼ 3,104 vs yr agoBetter than 74% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
76.1%
National median: 74.2%
▲ 1.1 pts vs yr agoBetter than 59% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
26,297
National median: 14,642
▼ 320 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
448
National median: 194
▲ 94 vs yr agoBetter than 29% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
26,297
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
76.1%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
448
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
5,461
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
12,642
Seen within 4 hours
58.1%

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)26,29776.1%
Type 1 — major A&E12,64258.1%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC13,65592.9%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
75.3%
3,544 of 4,705 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
65.6%
284 of 433 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
94.7%
822 of 868 treated in time
Target 96% · below target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
60%70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%65.6%72.5%April 202567.9%May 202566.0%June 202569.8%July 202565.0%August 202570.9%September 202558.7%October 202563.6%November 202571.7%December 202568.0%January 202663.5%February 202665.7%March 202663.7%April 202667.1%May 202665.6%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
65%70%75%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%75.3%74.7%April 202572.5%May 202574.0%June 202574.9%July 202572.3%August 202570.3%September 202566.2%October 202565.3%November 202568.3%December 202567.7%January 202674.9%February 202674.1%March 202674.3%April 202674.5%May 202675.3%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
90%95%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%94.7%93.4%April 202592.4%May 202593.9%June 202591.5%July 202588.6%August 202590.9%September 202589.5%October 202590.3%November 202593.8%December 202587.6%January 202693.1%February 202693.6%March 202691.5%April 202695.3%May 202694.7%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
94.8%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
1.2%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
807
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
19.3%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
82.4%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
10.8%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
721
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
8.4%
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
54.2%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 5.7 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.58
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
52.7%
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
182
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
40
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
22.0%
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
91.4%
1,137 occupied of 1,244 open
Adult critical care occupancy
51.6%
16 occupied of 31 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
55.5%
of 20,454 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
32.6%
of 20,454 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
159
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
12%
of 1,260 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
5
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 193 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
44.9%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
193
Of 434 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.5/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
8.8/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
8.1/10
Worse than most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
7.2/10
About the same as most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
8.5/10
About the same as most trusts
Midwife listened to you (postnatal care at home)
8.4/10
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.

Colchester General Hospital
E38.8/100
East of England (North)
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentC
Specialist pathwayE
ReperfusionE
MDT assessmentC
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyE
Standards by dischargeC
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A
Ipswich Hospital
D52.5/100
East of England (North)
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentC
Specialist pathwayC
ReperfusionE
MDT assessmentD
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyC
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 Suffolk And North Essex 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.

Colchester General HospitalBest-practice 55.1%642 cases
The Ipswich HospitalBest-practice 43.0%500 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 459 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
40.6%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
459
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
8.8/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors
8.6/10
National average: 9.0/10
Worse than 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
6.6/10
National average: 7.6/10
Worse than 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
9.4/10
National average: 9.4/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough notice about when you would leave hospital
6.8/10
National average: 6.9/10
About the same as the national average
Knew what would happen next with your care, before leaving hospital
6.2/10
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 282 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
31.3%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
282
Of 950 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
7.3/10
National average: 7.3/10
About the same as the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
2.2/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as 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
7.8/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
7.7/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
7.1/10
National average: 7.4/10
About the same as the national average
Test results explained before you left
7.1/10
National average: 7.5/10
About the same as the national average
Felt safe around other patients
8.2/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
6.4/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.1/10
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 720 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
720
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
75%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Easy to contact your main contact person
79%
National average: 84%
Worse than the national average
Involved as much as wanted in treatment decisions
81%
National average: 80%
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the team during hospital care
73%
National average: 78%
Worse than the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
84%
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
59%
National average: 65%
Worse than the national average
The whole care team worked well together
87%
National average: 89%
Worse than the national average
Got the support needed from your GP practice since diagnosis
40%
National average: 45%
Worse than 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): 24.9
Patients
163
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
97.5%
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)
18.0
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 18.5
Patients
204
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
96.1%
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
11.1%
of 19,389 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Respiratory physiology62726.5%1660
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy34523.8%826
MRI4,27522.5%96439
Gastroscopy1,02818.8%1931
Colonoscopy1,11618.6%2086
Cardiology1,9528.0%1561
Neurophysiology5277.2%380
Ultrasound5,6324.6%2582
Cystoscopy4794.4%212
Audiology9932.5%252
CT scan2,0742.1%441
Barium Enema1190.8%10
DEXA Scan1770.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
10%20%30%Apr 25Jan 2611.1%8.4%April 20258.9%May 20256.9%June 20256.3%July 202512.4%August 202513.1%September 202523.1%October 202526.4%November 202527.9%December 202521.9%January 202615.4%February 202610.1%March 202610.6%April 20267.9%May 202611.1%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 bacteraemia126
C. difficile263114
E. coli bacteraemia62391
MSSA bacteraemia17438
Klebsiella bacteraemia20244
Pseudomonas bacteraemia7218
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
10203040Dec 23Jan 25Jan 263226December 202327January 202421February 202421March 202417April 202424May 202422June 202413July 202425August 202420September 202424October 202427November 202414December 202436January 202522February 202522March 202517April 202527May 202528June 202526July 202528August 202534September 202522October 202521November 202523December 202539January 202620February 202630March 202611April 202625May 202626June 202632July 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
1.13
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 4,340 deaths vs 3,830 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
1.001.051.101.15Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)1.131.14December 20181.14January 20191.13February 20191.12March 20191.12April 20191.11May 20191.10June 20191.10July 20191.10August 20191.09September 20191.09October 20191.10November 20191.08December 20191.08January 20201.08February 20201.08March 20201.07April 20201.07May 20201.07June 20201.07July 20201.07August 20201.07September 20201.07October 20201.06November 20201.07December 20201.07January 20211.07February 20211.08March 20211.08April 20211.08May 20211.08June 20211.07July 20211.07August 20211.07September 20211.08October 20211.08November 20211.08December 20211.08January 20221.09February 20221.08March 20221.07April 20221.07May 20221.07June 20221.08July 20221.08August 20221.08September 20221.09October 20221.09November 20221.08December 20221.08January 20231.08February 20231.08March 20231.10April 20231.10May 20231.11June 20231.10July 20231.10August 20231.11September 20231.10October 20231.09November 20231.11December 20231.11January 20241.10February 20241.11March 20241.10April 20241.10May 20241.10June 20241.11July 20241.09August 20241.08September 20241.08October 20241.08November 20241.07December 20241.08January 20251.08February 20251.09March 20251.08April 20251.07May 20251.07June 20251.07July 20251.07August 20251.07September 20251.07October 20251.09November 20251.12December 20251.13January 20261.13February 20261.13March 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 Throat10,39356.1%15.8 wks37.9 wks000
Dermatology9,81774.2%10.4 wks31.1 wks000
Trauma and Orthopaedic9,68750.6%17.7 wks41.8 wks700
Ophthalmology8,71667.7%12.2 wks34.6 wks000
Gynaecology8,41057.5%14.9 wks39.8 wks3500
Other - Surgicals6,11966.3%10.7 wks40.1 wks000
General Surgery5,97453.4%16.7 wks41.5 wks300
Urology5,84058.5%14.8 wks39.5 wks200
Other - Medicals3,98874.9%9.4 wks35.1 wks000
Neurology3,97350.5%17.8 wks43.2 wks1600
Oral Surgery3,86851.3%17.5 wks41.3 wks000
Gastroenterology3,73167.4%11.1 wks34.4 wks000
Cardiology3,06974.5%9.6 wks35.9 wks000
Rheumatology2,36955.2%16.1 wks40.7 wks000
Respiratory Medicine1,52880.0%8.0 wks28.8 wks000
General Internal Medicine81153.9%15.9 wks42.3 wks000
Other - Paediatrics75167.2%11.9 wks31.3 wks000
Plastic Surgery29267.5%10.8 wks37.9 wks000
Other - Others29272.6%8.3 wks36.2 wks000
Elderly Medicine13596.3%5.4 wks15.9 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.