HospitalCheck

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool, L7 8XP · 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
61.4% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
68.2% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
71.5% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
14.1% 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

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported 27,917 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 68.2% of patients seen within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 61,511 patients on its waiting list, and 61.4% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Staff survey data from 2025 showed that 62.9% 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
61.4%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 5.7 pts vs yr agoBetter than 18% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
13.7 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 1.8 wks vs yr agoBetter than 18% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
61,511
National median: 39,587
▼ 6,544 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
759
National median: 358.5
▼ 2,080 vs yr agoBetter than 29% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
68.2%
National median: 74.2%
▲ 0.6 pts vs yr agoBetter than 23% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
27,917
National median: 14,642
▲ 1,392 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
1,057
National median: 194
▲ 155 vs yr agoBetter than 7% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
27,917
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
68.2%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
1,057
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
7,658
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
17,260
Seen within 4 hours
50.4%

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)27,91768.2%
Type 1 — major A&E17,26050.4%
Type 2 — single-specialty A&E1,97997.4%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC8,67897.1%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
72.0%
2,893 of 4,017 treated in time
Target 75% · below target
Treatment within 62 days
71.5%
214 of 300 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
90.1%
366 of 406 treated in time
Target 96% · below target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%71.5%73.0%April 202571.7%May 202571.7%June 202576.1%July 202572.2%August 202570.9%September 202575.1%October 202573.6%November 202572.3%December 202565.7%January 202668.2%February 202676.5%March 202672.2%April 202669.6%May 202671.5%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
70%75%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%72.0%75.9%April 202571.3%May 202574.2%June 202576.4%July 202574.7%August 202575.9%September 202577.9%October 202577.9%November 202575.2%December 202570.4%January 202682.5%February 202678.3%March 202674.9%April 202677.6%May 202672.0%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
85%90%95%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%90.1%91.9%April 202590.4%May 202589.6%June 202589.5%July 202590.2%August 202587.3%September 202588.0%October 202586.6%November 202590.2%December 202583.5%January 202688.7%February 202688.4%March 202685.9%April 202686.3%May 202690.1%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
93.0%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
3.7%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
2,648
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
21.9%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
68.6%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
22.9%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,552
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
13.9%
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
62.9%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 3.2 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.49
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
164
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
68
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
41.5%
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
93.9%
1,404 occupied of 1,496 open
Adult critical care occupancy
82.0%
50 occupied of 61 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
41.0%
of 20,690 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
14.5%
of 20,690 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
289
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
36%
of 3,170 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

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.

University Hospital Aintree
B70.0/100
Cheshire and Mersey
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentA
Specialist pathwayA
ReperfusionC
MDT assessmentB
Therapy intensityC
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)

Liverpool University 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.

University Hospital AintreeBest-practice 35.2%848 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 406 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
35.2%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
406
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
8.1/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Cleanliness of your room or ward
9.1/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors
9.3/10
National average: 9.0/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the nurses
9.0/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Enough nurses on duty
7.8/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care and treatment
7.6/10
National average: 7.2/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough privacy when examined or treated
9.5/10
National average: 9.4/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough notice about when you would leave hospital
7.3/10
National average: 6.9/10
About the same as the national average
Knew what would happen next with your care, before leaving hospital
7.1/10
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 305 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
24.8%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
305
Of 1,250 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
7.1/10
National average: 7.3/10
About the same as the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
2.8/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
4.0/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
8.3/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.2/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
7.3/10
National average: 7.4/10
About the same as the national average
Test results explained before you left
7.4/10
National average: 7.5/10
About the same as the national average
Felt safe around other patients
7.2/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
6.6/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.2/10
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 363 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
363
Who took part
Overall rating of care
9.3/10
National average: 8.9/10
Better than the national average
Cancer diagnosis explained understandably
83%
National average: 78%
Better than 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
82%
National average: 80%
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the team during hospital care
86%
National average: 78%
Better than the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
94%
National average: 88%
Better than the national average
Possible side effects explained understandably
83%
National average: 74%
Better than the national average
Given enough information about signs of cancer returning or spreading
69%
National average: 65%
About the same as the national average
The whole care team worked well together
91%
National average: 89%
About the same as the national average
Got the support needed from your GP practice since diagnosis
48%
National average: 45%
About the same as the national average

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

Hip & knee replacement — patient outcomes (PROMs)

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

Hip replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
23.0
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 23.7
Patients
108
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
99.1%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.45
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale
Knee replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
15.8
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 17.3
Patients
107
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
93.5%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.30
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
14.1%
of 16,564 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy49551.5%25592
Gastroscopy1,59446.9%748331
Colonoscopy1,15739.4%456128
Cystoscopy26238.5%10126
Cardiology3,09118.3%5670
MRI2,4034.9%1186
Audiology1634.3%70
CT scan1,8591.7%321
Ultrasound4,1801.1%480
DEXA Scan7560.3%20
Respiratory physiology5420.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
5%10%15%Apr 25Jan 2614.1%7.3%April 20257.7%May 20255.9%June 20255.4%July 20258.5%August 202510.7%September 20257.0%October 20259.1%November 20258.7%December 20258.9%January 20267.2%February 202611.0%March 202615.0%April 202615.2%May 202614.1%June 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
0.96
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 3,635 deaths vs 3,795 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
0.951.001.05Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)0.960.99December 20180.97January 20190.95February 20190.94March 20190.93April 20190.95May 20190.94June 20191.01July 20191.01August 20191.02September 20191.02October 20191.01November 20191.01December 20191.02January 20201.02February 20201.03March 20201.03April 20201.03May 20201.03June 20201.04July 20201.04August 20201.04September 20201.05October 20201.06November 20201.06December 20201.06January 20211.05February 20211.04March 20211.04April 20211.05May 20211.03June 20211.03July 20211.03August 20211.03September 20211.02October 20211.02November 20211.02December 20211.02January 20221.02February 20221.00March 20221.01April 20221.01May 20221.01June 20221.02July 20221.02August 20221.02September 20221.03October 20221.03November 20221.04December 20221.06January 20231.07February 20231.07March 20231.07April 20231.06May 20231.05June 20231.05July 20231.04August 20231.05September 20231.05October 20231.05November 20231.00December 20230.97January 20240.98February 20240.97March 20240.96April 20240.96May 20240.97June 20240.96July 20240.96August 20240.96September 20240.96October 20240.95November 20240.96December 20240.97January 20250.97February 20250.97March 20250.97April 20250.97May 20250.96June 20250.96July 20250.97August 20250.96September 20250.95October 20250.95November 20250.95December 20250.95January 20260.95February 20260.96March 2026

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

Waiting times by specialty

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

SpecialtyWaitingWithin 18 wksMedian wait9 in 10 wait under52+ wks65+ wks78+ wks
Other - Surgicals9,23956.3%15.3 wks44.2 wks26100
Ophthalmology7,31274.6%9.9 wks32.3 wks100
Gastroenterology6,96562.5%13.6 wks37.8 wks3200
Ear Nose and Throat5,26753.0%17.0 wks46.1 wks8800
Trauma and Orthopaedic4,52951.8%17.4 wks45.8 wks16800
Oral Surgery4,19255.0%16.4 wks42.9 wks5800
Other - Medicals3,90167.1%11.8 wks39.8 wks5100
Dermatology3,82164.7%11.2 wks42.7 wks700
Urology3,61953.6%16.5 wks39.7 wks3100
Other - Others3,52965.0%11.3 wks40.8 wks000
Cardiology3,16475.8%10.5 wks35.5 wks900
General Surgery2,01644.8%19.6 wks45.1 wks4900
Respiratory Medicine1,21783.7%8.7 wks21.2 wks000
Elderly Medicine1,10555.4%16.1 wks37.2 wks000
Other - Paediatrics89854.6%16.3 wks38.0 wks300
Rheumatology53783.6%9.0 wks20.4 wks000
Plastic Surgery12221.3%27.5 wks37.8 wks100
General Internal Medicine7893.6%2.9 wks13.9 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.