HospitalCheck

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Swindon, SN3 6BB · 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
56.9% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
64.7% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
59.2% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
6.5% 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

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported 12,246 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 64.7% of patients seen within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 42,858 patients on its waiting list, and 56.9% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Staff survey data from 2025 showed that 59.5% of employees would recommend the trust to friends or relatives.

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
56.9%
National median: 66.3%
▼ 3.9 pts vs yr agoBetter than 4% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
15.1 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▲ 1.5 wks vs yr agoBetter than 4% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
42,858
National median: 39,587
▲ 4,645 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
1,088
National median: 358.5
▲ 409 vs yr agoBetter than 20% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
64.7%
National median: 74.2%
▼ 4.4 pts vs yr agoBetter than 13% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
12,246
National median: 14,642
▲ 620 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
390
National median: 194
▲ 242 vs yr agoBetter than 34% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
12,246
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
64.7%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
390
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
3,999
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
7,759
Seen within 4 hours
53.4%

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)12,24664.7%
Type 1 — major A&E7,75953.4%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC4,48784.4%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
67.9%
1,236 of 1,819 treated in time
Target 75% · below target
Treatment within 62 days
59.2%
116 of 196 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
87.1%
202 of 232 treated in time
Target 96% · below target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
60%70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%59.2%72.1%April 202570.1%May 202575.5%June 202567.6%July 202564.8%August 202565.2%September 202566.7%October 202565.6%November 202571.0%December 202561.6%January 202660.6%February 202672.0%March 202662.2%April 202664.5%May 202659.2%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
60%70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%67.9%80.4%April 202577.8%May 202578.9%June 202574.9%July 202566.6%August 202561.7%September 202563.9%October 202561.6%November 202571.6%December 202564.9%January 202680.4%February 202680.6%March 202672.1%April 202667.3%May 202667.9%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
80%85%90%95%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%87.1%93.6%April 202590.0%May 202586.7%June 202589.6%July 202586.9%August 202584.1%September 202591.1%October 202589.4%November 202591.4%December 202585.5%January 202685.3%February 202688.8%March 202680.0%April 202687.0%May 202687.1%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
88.9%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
6.4%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,020
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
32.3%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
75.6%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
16.3%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,049
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
15.6%
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
59.5%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 0.8 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.81
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
58.5%
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
89
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
16
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
18.0%
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
98.3%
532 occupied of 541 open
Adult critical care occupancy
75.0%
9 occupied of 12 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
47.4%
of 9,595 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
16.8%
of 9,595 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
116
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
40%
of 1,339 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
1
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 124 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
41.5%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
124
Of 300 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.5/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
9.0/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
8.4/10
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)
8.3/10
About the same as most trusts
Midwife listened to you (postnatal care at home)
8.6/10
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.

Forest Ward - Swindon Intermediate Care Centre
D43.6/100
West of England
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Specialist pathwayB
Therapy intensityE
Therapy frequencyE
Standards by dischargeD
Case ascertainment BAudit 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.

Great Western Hospital Swindon
E27.5/100
West of England
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentE
Specialist pathwayE
ReperfusionE
MDT assessmentE
Therapy intensityE
Therapy frequencyE
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)

Great Western Hospitals 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.

The Great Western HospitalBest-practice 60.9%430 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 441 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
37.1%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
441
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
6.9/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Cleanliness of your room or ward
8.6/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors
9.0/10
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
7.3/10
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
9.4/10
National average: 9.4/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough notice about when you would leave hospital
6.5/10
National average: 6.9/10
About the same as the national average
Knew what would happen next with your care, before leaving hospital
6.0/10
National average: 6.7/10
Worse than 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 268 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
29.3%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
268
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
3.3/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
3.8/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
8.1/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.1/10
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
7.2/10
National average: 7.5/10
About the same as the national average
Felt safe around other patients
8.0/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
7.0/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.3/10
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 531 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
531
Who took part
Overall rating of care
8.9/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Cancer diagnosis explained understandably
79%
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
73%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
86%
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
90%
National average: 89%
About the same as 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)
21.6
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 23.5
Patients
73
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
95.9%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.44
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale
Knee replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
14.5
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 15.8
Patients
67
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
89.6%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.27
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
6.5%
of 7,971 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Cystoscopy10946.8%5135
Respiratory physiology34437.8%13013
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy11821.2%252
Audiology72719.9%14524
Colonoscopy49913.6%6822
Gastroscopy4229.2%396
Cardiology6637.7%519
Ultrasound2,4740.2%60
CT scan8640.1%10
Neurophysiology1370.0%00
DEXA Scan2310.0%00
MRI1,3830.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
5%10%15%Apr 25Jan 266.5%15.2%April 202515.0%May 202515.7%June 202513.6%July 202511.0%August 20259.8%September 20257.1%October 20258.0%November 20259.9%December 20258.9%January 20266.1%February 20267.7%March 202611.2%April 20266.9%May 20266.5%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 bacteraemia94
C. difficile8345
E. coli bacteraemia25458
MSSA bacteraemia7820
Klebsiella bacteraemia7716
Pseudomonas bacteraemia278
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
5101520Dec 23Jan 25Jan 261713December 20239January 202418February 202411March 20249April 202415May 202417June 202419July 20249August 202411September 202420October 20249November 20249December 20247January 20256February 20256March 202514April 202514May 20256June 202513July 202516August 20255September 202511October 20257November 202510December 202516January 202614February 202617March 20267April 202618May 202613June 202617July 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
1.00
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 1,880 deaths vs 1,880 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
0.901.001.10Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)1.000.86December 20180.87January 20190.88February 20190.89March 20190.89April 20190.91May 20190.91June 20190.92July 20190.93August 20190.94September 20190.94October 20190.95November 20190.95December 20190.96January 20200.97February 20200.99March 20200.99April 20201.00May 20201.00June 20201.00July 20201.00August 20201.00September 20200.99October 20200.99November 20200.99December 20200.96January 20210.95February 20210.93March 20210.91April 20210.90May 20210.89June 20210.89July 20210.89August 20210.88September 20210.88October 20210.87November 20210.86December 20210.88January 20220.90February 20220.93March 20220.95April 20220.98May 20221.00June 20221.02July 20221.04August 20221.05September 20221.08October 20221.11November 20221.12December 20221.12January 20231.07February 20231.06March 20231.07April 20231.07May 20231.10June 20231.05July 20231.05August 20231.05September 20231.03October 20231.03November 20231.03December 20231.03January 20241.00February 20241.00March 20240.99April 20241.00May 20241.03June 20241.03July 20241.03August 20241.04September 20241.03October 20241.05November 20241.06December 20241.06January 20250.97February 20250.96March 20250.98April 20250.99May 20250.97June 20250.98July 20250.98August 20250.99September 20251.00October 20251.00November 20250.99December 20251.00January 20261.00February 20261.00March 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
Trauma and Orthopaedic5,68046.4%19.4 wks46.0 wks23510
General Surgery5,16460.1%13.2 wks44.8 wks21120
Gastroenterology3,66656.3%15.4 wks43.7 wks8520
Dermatology3,64962.6%12.5 wks37.5 wks3900
Gynaecology3,51753.4%16.6 wks39.6 wks5000
Ear Nose and Throat3,50557.8%15.1 wks43.8 wks13110
Oral Surgery3,06244.3%20.6 wks45.3 wks9200
Urology3,00851.4%17.3 wks47.3 wks12810
Ophthalmology2,81060.4%14.2 wks38.8 wks4200
Other - Medicals2,01654.3%15.9 wks41.0 wks3220
Other - Paediatrics1,63152.1%17.5 wks35.8 wks1400
Other - Others1,22974.9%10.0 wks32.0 wks400
Cardiology1,08767.9%11.9 wks30.0 wks100
Respiratory Medicine86058.7%14.0 wks37.9 wks400
Other - Surgicals67381.1%4.1 wks33.4 wks1500
Neurology67087.2%6.9 wks21.6 wks000
Rheumatology35392.1%6.3 wks17.9 wks100
Elderly Medicine17081.2%9.4 wks21.2 wks000
Plastic Surgery10876.9%6.0 wks37.4 wks400

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.