HospitalCheck

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Reading, RG1 5AN · 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
84.4% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
77.9% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
79.4% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
17.1% 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

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust reported 17,587 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 77.9% of patients treated within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 35,155 patients on its waiting list, and 84.4% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Staff survey results from 2025 showed that 78.5% 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
84.4%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 4.5 pts vs yr agoBetter than 90% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
9.2 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 0.7 wks vs yr agoBetter than 82% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
35,155
National median: 39,587
▼ 1,369 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
27
National median: 358.5
▼ 5 vs yr agoBetter than 78% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
77.9%
National median: 74.2%
▼ 0.3 pts vs yr agoBetter than 67% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
17,587
National median: 14,642
▲ 1,023 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
17
National median: 194
▲ 16 vs yr agoBetter than 73% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
17,587
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
77.9%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
17
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
2,667
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
11,129
Seen within 4 hours
65.9%

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)17,58777.9%
Type 1 — major A&E11,12965.9%
Type 2 — single-specialty A&E2,88396.5%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC3,575100.0%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
84.7%
2,113 of 2,496 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
79.4%
185 of 233 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
94.8%
552 of 582 treated in time
Target 96% · below target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%79.4%75.1%April 202569.0%May 202569.5%June 202578.1%July 202579.0%August 202568.7%September 202572.3%October 202574.1%November 202579.6%December 202575.7%January 202677.8%February 202678.9%March 202678.7%April 202677.2%May 202679.4%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
75%80%85%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%84.7%78.4%April 202579.2%May 202578.7%June 202579.7%July 202579.6%August 202577.0%September 202581.7%October 202580.7%November 202585.1%December 202580.0%January 202685.6%February 202687.1%March 202684.0%April 202686.0%May 202684.7%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
90%95%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%94.8%87.4%April 202589.4%May 202593.5%June 202590.7%July 202587.7%August 202589.4%September 202595.6%October 202594.4%November 202593.0%December 202589.3%January 202689.5%February 202690.9%March 202689.1%April 202692.9%May 202694.8%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
95.7%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
2.0%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
600
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
9.5%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
79.9%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
16.4%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
867
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
5.6%
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
78.5%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 0.7 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
7.34
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
74.5%
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
143
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
0
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
0.0%
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
94.0%
472 occupied of 502 open
Adult critical care occupancy
94.4%
17 occupied of 18 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
14.0%
of 12,341 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
3.4%
of 12,341 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
0
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, 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 131 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
39.1%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
131
Of 339 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.4/10
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)
8.2/10
About the same as most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
5.6/10
Worse than most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
7.8/10
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.

Royal Berkshire Hospital
C66.2/100
Buckinghamshire, Oxford and Berkshire
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentC
Specialist pathwayD
ReperfusionA
MDT assessmentC
Therapy intensityB
Therapy frequencyC
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)

Royal Berkshire 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.

Royal Berkshire HospitalBest-practice 55.1%459 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 490 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
41.0%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
490
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
8.2/10
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
9.2/10
National average: 9.0/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the nurses
9.1/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Enough nurses on duty
8.2/10
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
7.0/10
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 360 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
30.3%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
360
Of 1,250 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
2.8/10
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
8.3/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.0/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
7.4/10
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
7.8/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
6.5/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.4/10
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 774 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
774
Who took part
Overall rating of care
9.0/10
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
88%
National average: 84%
About the same as 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
81%
National average: 78%
About the same as the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
91%
National average: 88%
About the same as the national average
Possible side effects explained understandably
76%
National average: 74%
About the same as 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
91%
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)
19.4
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 19.6
Patients
90
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
94.4%
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)
15.4
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 16.3
Patients
105
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
93.3%
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
17.1%
of 10,310 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
MRI3,29322.9%75495
Ultrasound3,49219.1%666168
Cardiology41718.0%750
Gastroscopy32214.6%4716
Colonoscopy26410.2%278
Audiology3928.7%344
Respiratory physiology4048.2%330
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy1187.6%92
CT scan1,5067.4%1119
Urodynamics740.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
10%20%Apr 25Jan 2617.1%6.2%April 202510.0%May 202510.3%June 202515.3%July 202521.5%August 202515.9%September 202511.6%October 202516.8%November 202520.7%December 202520.1%January 202614.0%February 202613.2%March 202622.9%April 202618.3%May 202617.1%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 bacteraemia62
C. difficile10221
E. coli bacteraemia35745
MSSA bacteraemia13828
Klebsiella bacteraemia11220
Pseudomonas bacteraemia428
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
1020Dec 23Jan 25Jan 261213December 202317January 20248February 202413March 202414April 20248May 20248June 202416July 202412August 202416September 202412October 20249November 20248December 20248January 202512February 202512March 202512April 202515May 202515June 202523July 20257August 20259September 202512October 202511November 202513December 202513January 202612February 20265March 202610April 20267May 202613June 202612July 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
1.14
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 1,960 deaths vs 1,725 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
1.001.10Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)1.141.07December 20181.09January 20191.07February 20191.08March 20191.08April 20191.09May 20191.10June 20191.12July 20191.14August 20191.13September 20191.12October 20191.12November 20191.12December 20191.11January 20201.11February 20201.11March 20201.09April 20201.08May 20201.07June 20201.05July 20201.04August 20201.03September 20201.04October 20201.04November 20201.02December 20201.01January 20211.02February 20211.02March 20211.05April 20211.05May 20211.06June 20211.06July 20211.06August 20211.06September 20211.04October 20211.04November 20211.03December 20211.03January 20221.02February 20221.02March 20221.02April 20221.02May 20221.02June 20221.01July 20220.98August 20220.98September 20220.98October 20220.97November 20220.97December 20220.97January 20230.96February 20230.95March 20230.95April 20230.94May 20230.95June 20230.96July 20230.98August 20230.99September 20230.98October 20231.00November 20231.00December 20231.01January 20241.01February 20241.02March 20241.02April 20241.03May 20241.02June 20241.03July 20241.02August 20241.02September 20241.04October 20241.04November 20241.05December 20241.06January 20251.08February 20251.09March 20251.10April 20251.11May 20251.14June 20251.14July 20251.15August 20251.14September 20251.13October 20251.13November 20251.14December 20251.15January 20261.15February 20261.14March 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
Ophthalmology5,35884.8%9.9 wks23.1 wks200
Gastroenterology3,81982.0%9.5 wks23.6 wks200
Ear Nose and Throat3,35481.2%10.1 wks24.0 wks600
Cardiology3,31582.2%9.9 wks24.8 wks100
General Surgery2,92586.3%9.1 wks21.8 wks200
Gynaecology2,90082.5%9.6 wks24.4 wks300
Dermatology2,42285.5%8.0 wks22.5 wks400
Urology2,27685.0%8.5 wks22.9 wks300
Trauma and Orthopaedic2,07287.1%9.1 wks21.4 wks210
Other - Paediatrics1,47084.6%9.7 wks22.1 wks000
Respiratory Medicine1,44491.2%7.0 wks18.6 wks000
Other - Medicals1,06787.3%7.8 wks24.0 wks000
Neurology94788.7%7.3 wks20.3 wks000
Rheumatology57987.4%7.7 wks21.1 wks000
Oral Surgery48986.9%7.2 wks21.3 wks000
Other - Others39973.9%13.1 wks27.5 wks100
Plastic Surgery30380.5%9.7 wks29.9 wks100
Other - Surgicals1687.5%8.0 wks29.7 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.