HospitalCheck

Maidstone And Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Maidstone, ME16 9QQ · 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
70.0% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
74.5% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
83.8% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
11.7% 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

Maidstone And Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust reported 22,208 A&E attendances in September 2026, with 74.5% of patients treated within four hours. In August 2026, the trust had 50,979 patients on its waiting list, and 70% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Additionally, 73% of staff in the 2025 survey were happy for a friend or relative to be treated there.

Automatically generated from the official figures on this page and checked to restate only those figures. Last generated 9 October 2026. This is a plain-English summary, not medical advice. About these summaries

CQC-registered locations of this trust

Trust performance

Treated or seen within 18 weeks
70.0%
National median: 65.8%
▲ 1.0 pts vs yr agoBetter than 72% of trustsData: Aug 2026
Typical (median) wait
11.5 wks
National median: 12.2 wks
▲ 0.3 wks vs yr agoBetter than 67% of trustsData: Aug 2026
Patients on the waiting list
50,979
National median: 39,285
▲ 2,134 vs yr agoData: Aug 2026
Waiting over a year
4
National median: 364
▲ 4 vs yr agoBetter than 86% of trustsData: Aug 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
74.5%
National median: 73.3%
▼ 6.5 pts vs yr agoBetter than 55% of trustsData: Sep 2026
A&E attendances
22,208
National median: 14,631
▲ 187 vs yr agoData: Sep 2026
12-hour trolley waits
686
National median: 228
▲ 590 vs yr agoBetter than 18% of trustsData: Sep 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
22,208
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
74.5%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
686
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
2,905
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
20,578
Seen within 4 hours
72.5%

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)22,20874.5%
Type 1 — major A&E20,57872.5%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC1,63099.9%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: August 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
83.0%
1,432 of 1,726 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
83.8%
192 of 229 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
97.7%
673 of 689 treated in time
Target 96% · meets target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
80%85%90%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%83.8%90.0%April 202587.1%May 202586.8%June 202582.8%July 202587.2%August 202586.7%September 202580.6%October 202585.7%November 202590.1%December 202586.2%January 202685.0%February 202687.8%March 202685.1%April 202686.8%May 202685.1%June 202687.4%July 202683.8%August 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
75%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%83.0%77.4%April 202575.4%May 202577.3%June 202575.8%July 202576.5%August 202578.6%September 202582.9%October 202581.6%November 202581.5%December 202581.2%January 202683.8%February 202680.5%March 202680.2%April 202681.0%May 202681.8%June 202681.8%July 202683.0%August 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
96%98%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%97.7%98.1%April 202597.4%May 202597.0%June 202597.3%July 202599.2%August 202598.7%September 202597.5%October 202598.6%November 202599.4%December 202596.5%January 202697.7%February 202697.3%March 202696.1%April 202698.4%May 202697.4%June 202698.3%July 202697.7%August 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: August 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
87.9%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
3.1%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
546
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
8.1%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
77.5%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
15.0%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
1,423
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
7.4%
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
73.0%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 1.7 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.90
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
61.8%
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
96
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
17
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
17.7%
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 days of 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
86.1%
574 occupied of 667 open
Adult critical care occupancy
45.2%
14 occupied of 31 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
8.6%
of 15,155 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
0.5%
of 15,155 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
58
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
54%
of 874 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
4
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 158 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
158
Of 383 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
9.1/10
Better than most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
9.1/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
8.8/10
About the same as most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
8.6/10
Better than most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
8.7/10
About the same as most trusts
Midwife listened to you (postnatal care at home)
9.1/10
Better than 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.

Maidstone District General Hospital
D54.0/100
Kent and Medway
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentC
Specialist pathwayB
ReperfusionC
MDT assessmentB
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyD
Standards by dischargeD
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance C

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

Hip fracture care (NHFD audit)

Maidstone And Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust · National Hip Fracture Database, 2023 audit year · "Met best-practice criteria" is the audit's own composite measure of hip-fracture care PROCESSES at each hospital this trust runs.

Tunbridge Wells HospitalBest-practice 38.7%600 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
45.6%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
537
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
7.6/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Cleanliness of your room or ward
9.2/10
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
9.0/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Enough nurses on duty
8.1/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care and treatment
7.2/10
National average: 7.2/10
About the same as the national average
Given enough privacy when examined or treated
9.6/10
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
6.7/10
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 385 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
31.4%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
385
Of 1,250 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
7.8/10
National average: 7.3/10
About the same as the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
3.2/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
3.3/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
8.8/10
National average: 8.3/10
Better than the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.5/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
7.9/10
National average: 7.4/10
About the same as the national average
Test results explained before you left
7.7/10
National average: 7.5/10
About the same as the national average
Felt safe around other patients
8.3/10
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
8.6/10
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 727 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
727
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
77%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Easy to contact your main contact person
87%
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
75%
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
78%
National average: 74%
Better than the national average
Given enough information about signs of cancer returning or spreading
67%
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
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)
21.6
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 21.0
Patients
148
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
98.6%
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)
16.7
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 15.8
Patients
173
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
98.3%
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: August 2026. The operational standard is that under 1% should wait more than 6 weeks.

Waiting 6+ weeks for a test
11.7%
of 12,274 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Cystoscopy7022.9%167
Gastroscopy38522.1%8530
Ultrasound5,54720.2%1,1220
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy18118.2%3314
Colonoscopy33014.8%4928
Cardiology6449.2%592
Audiology6363.6%233
Respiratory physiology943.2%30
Barium Enema951.1%10
MRI1,5261.0%150
CT scan2,4020.7%180
DEXA Scan3300.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
5%10%Apr 25Jan 2611.7%10.5%April 202510.9%May 202511.4%June 202511.4%July 202511.1%August 20258.6%September 20255.0%October 20253.3%November 20253.4%December 20253.0%January 20262.1%February 20262.1%March 20265.2%April 20265.2%May 20263.5%June 20266.4%July 202611.7%August 2026

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

Safety: infections

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

InfectionCases (12 mo)Hospital-onset
MRSA bacteraemia102
C. difficile20562
E. coli bacteraemia28836
MSSA bacteraemia10423
Klebsiella bacteraemia9624
Pseudomonas bacteraemia5321
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
1020Dec 23Jan 25Jan 261415December 202310January 202413February 202415March 20249April 202414May 202417June 20248July 202414August 202412September 202420October 202418November 202416December 202414January 202511February 202513March 202511April 202519May 202522June 202516July 202514August 202517September 202516October 202511November 202512December 202513January 202614February 20269March 202615April 20269May 202613June 202625July 202614August 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to May 2026.

As expected
0.96
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 2,095 deaths vs 2,190 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
0.901.00Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)0.961.03December 20181.02January 20191.02February 20191.02March 20191.04April 20191.04May 20191.03June 20191.03July 20191.02August 20191.01September 20191.01October 20191.02November 20191.01December 20191.01January 20201.01February 20201.00March 20201.00April 20200.97May 20200.96June 20200.95July 20200.93August 20200.92September 20200.92October 20200.91November 20200.92December 20200.90January 20210.90February 20210.89March 20210.89April 20210.89May 20210.92June 20210.92July 20210.93August 20210.93September 20210.95October 20210.94November 20210.94December 20210.96January 20220.97February 20220.99March 20220.97April 20220.97May 20220.95June 20220.93July 20220.93August 20220.93September 20220.91October 20220.91November 20220.91December 20220.90January 20230.90February 20230.91March 20230.91April 20230.91May 20230.91June 20230.93July 20230.92August 20230.94September 20230.94October 20230.94November 20230.95December 20230.96January 20240.95February 20240.93March 20240.94April 20240.94May 20240.95June 20240.94July 20240.93August 20240.91September 20240.91October 20240.90November 20240.88December 20240.88January 20250.87February 20250.88March 20250.88April 20250.88May 20250.88June 20250.87July 20250.88August 20250.89September 20250.90October 20250.91November 20250.93December 20250.94January 20260.94February 20260.94March 20260.94April 20260.96May 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: August 2026 · Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment statistics (incomplete pathways)

SpecialtyWaitingWithin 18 wksMedian wait9 in 10 wait under52+ wks65+ wks78+ wks
Ear Nose and Throat6,11052.5%17.4 wks35.6 wks100
Gynaecology5,94964.9%12.9 wks32.8 wks000
Ophthalmology5,93474.7%9.4 wks29.1 wks000
General Surgery5,83370.2%11.0 wks33.7 wks000
Other - Medicals5,39681.7%8.6 wks24.3 wks000
Other - Paediatrics4,65358.2%15.4 wks35.6 wks300
Trauma and Orthopaedic4,27175.6%10.8 wks28.1 wks000
Gastroenterology2,80563.0%14.4 wks31.8 wks000
Urology2,54987.5%8.4 wks22.2 wks000
Cardiology2,26778.4%10.5 wks25.9 wks000
Neurology1,99162.7%14.1 wks31.6 wks000
Other - Surgicals1,31283.0%6.2 wks26.2 wks000
Respiratory Medicine1,23778.3%11.4 wks23.6 wks000
Rheumatology446100.0%4.5 wks10.7 wks000
Elderly Medicine19197.9%5.2 wks14.3 wks000
Cardiothoracic Surgery34100.0%4.8 wks14.4 wks000
Other - Others1100.0%2.5 wks2.9 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.