HospitalCheck

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Southampton, SO16 6YD · 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
65.3% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
70.1% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
74.0% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
19.9% waiting 6+ weeks · standard 1.0% or fewer · About this data
Mortality (SHMI)
Lower than expected
Screening indicator, not a death rate — a prompt to investigate, not proof of poor care · About this data

In plain English

AI-generated

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust reported 13,112 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 70.1% of patients seen within four hours. In June 2026, the trust had 63,323 patients on its waiting list, and 65.3% were seen within 18 weeks of referral. Staff survey results from 2025 showed that 70.5% 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
65.3%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 1.2 pts vs yr agoBetter than 44% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
11.7 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 0.7 wks vs yr agoBetter than 50% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
63,323
National median: 39,587
▲ 684 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
1,397
National median: 358.5
▼ 26 vs yr agoBetter than 13% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
70.1%
National median: 74.2%
▲ 9.1 pts vs yr agoBetter than 33% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
13,112
National median: 14,642
▼ 575 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
18
National median: 194
▼ 2 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
13,112
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
70.1%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
18
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
5,607
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
11,858
Seen within 4 hours
67.0%

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)13,11270.1%
Type 1 — major A&E11,85867.0%
Type 2 — single-specialty A&E1,25499.4%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
76.8%
2,025 of 2,636 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
74.0%
218 of 294 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
81.2%
973 of 1,199 treated in time
Target 96% · below target
Treated within 62 days
Urgent referral to first treatment
70%75%80%85%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 85%74.0%75.2%April 202578.9%May 202571.3%June 202578.3%July 202575.6%August 202571.5%September 202573.5%October 202576.0%November 202573.1%December 202576.0%January 202674.3%February 202679.2%March 202675.5%April 202676.3%May 202674.0%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
75%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%76.8%81.6%April 202577.6%May 202573.4%June 202579.8%July 202580.5%August 202580.8%September 202581.3%October 202577.6%November 202579.6%December 202575.1%January 202681.7%February 202680.6%March 202672.7%April 202675.6%May 202676.8%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
80%85%90%95%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%81.2%95.2%April 202596.4%May 202595.6%June 202595.7%July 202595.0%August 202593.3%September 202594.3%October 202593.0%November 202593.0%December 202591.7%January 202687.0%February 202685.0%March 202687.1%April 202686.3%May 202681.2%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
97.3%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
1.1%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
783
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
7.1%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
76.4%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
16.6%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
314
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
6.0%
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
70.5%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 6.3 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.74
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
58.4%
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
266
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
87
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
32.7%
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 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
91.9%
815 occupied of 887 open
Adult critical care occupancy
83.1%
74 occupied of 89 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
6.9%
of 15,956 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
0.8%
of 15,956 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
195
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
39%
of 2,246 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
7
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 138 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
38.1%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
138
Of 362 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.3/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
9.1/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
8.9/10
About the same as most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
7.7/10
About the same as most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
7.9/10
About the same as most trusts
Midwife listened to you (postnatal care at home)
8.3/10
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.

Southampton General Hospital
D57.5/100
Wessex
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentC
Specialist pathwayD
ReperfusionA
MDT assessmentC
Therapy intensityD
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)

University Hospital Southampton 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.

Southampton General HospitalBest-practice 12.3%836 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 535 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
44.7%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
535
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
7.8/10
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
9.3/10
National average: 9.0/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the nurses
9.2/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Enough nurses on duty
8.0/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care and treatment
7.3/10
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
7.0/10
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 354 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
29.2%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
354
Of 1,250 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
7.7/10
National average: 7.3/10
About the same as the national average
Told how long you'd wait to be examined
2.4/10
National average: 2.6/10
About the same as the national average
Kept updated on your waiting time
3.2/10
National average: 3.4/10
About the same as the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
8.4/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.6/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
7.6/10
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
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
7.1/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.7/10
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 990 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
990
Who took part
Overall rating of care
9.1/10
National average: 8.9/10
About the same as the national average
Cancer diagnosis explained understandably
80%
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
84%
National average: 80%
Better than the national average
Confidence and trust in the team during hospital care
82%
National average: 78%
Better than the national average
Always treated with respect and dignity in hospital
91%
National average: 88%
Better than the national average
Possible side effects explained understandably
79%
National average: 74%
Better than the national average
Given enough information about signs of cancer returning or spreading
69%
National average: 65%
Better than 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
38%
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)
22.6
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 21.7
Patients
94
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
95.7%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.49
General health, secondary measure, 0-1 scale
Knee replacement
Average health gain (adjusted)
18.6
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 17.9
Patients
79
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
91.1%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.35
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
19.9%
of 10,827 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Cystoscopy48158.8%283181
Neurophysiology1,07547.5%511144
Cardiology72733.8%24617
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy8125.9%212
Gastroscopy27323.8%6526
Colonoscopy34519.7%689
Respiratory physiology30719.2%5929
CT scan1,18813.6%16239
Barium Enema11913.4%164
MRI1,85713.1%24321
Ultrasound3,50313.0%45734
DEXA Scan5282.7%141
Audiology3000.3%10
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
15%17.5%20%22.5%Apr 25Jan 2619.9%16.0%April 202517.5%May 202515.9%June 202516.5%July 202520.2%August 202519.7%September 202520.0%October 202519.8%November 202523.2%December 202519.8%January 202615.1%February 202616.2%March 202618.1%April 202617.6%May 202619.9%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 bacteraemia97
C. difficile17460
E. coli bacteraemia45082
MSSA bacteraemia14651
Klebsiella bacteraemia13637
Pseudomonas bacteraemia5221
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
10203040Dec 23Jan 25Jan 263625December 202320January 202423February 202420March 202421April 202425May 202428June 202417July 202430August 202438September 202425October 202424November 202427December 202425January 202517February 202517March 202521April 202520May 202522June 202536July 202534August 202521September 202523October 202529November 202518December 202521January 202610February 20269March 202618April 202622May 202617June 202636July 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

Lower than expected
0.85
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 2,745 deaths vs 3,240 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
0.800.901.00Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)0.850.93December 20180.93January 20190.94February 20190.94March 20190.93April 20190.92May 20190.93June 20190.93July 20190.92August 20190.91September 20190.90October 20190.89November 20190.88December 20190.87January 20200.87February 20200.85March 20200.85April 20200.85May 20200.82June 20200.83July 20200.82August 20200.82September 20200.82October 20200.82November 20200.82December 20200.83January 20210.82February 20210.82March 20210.83April 20210.83May 20210.83June 20210.82July 20210.82August 20210.82September 20210.82October 20210.83November 20210.83December 20210.81January 20220.82February 20220.82March 20220.82April 20220.82May 20220.82June 20220.83July 20220.83August 20220.84September 20220.83October 20220.82November 20220.83December 20220.83January 20230.82February 20230.82March 20230.82April 20230.82May 20230.82June 20230.82July 20230.83August 20230.83September 20230.84October 20230.85November 20230.84December 20230.85January 20240.86February 20240.86March 20240.86April 20240.85May 20240.85June 20240.85July 20240.84August 20240.83September 20240.83October 20240.82November 20240.82December 20240.81January 20250.81February 20250.81March 20250.81April 20250.82May 20250.82June 20250.82July 20250.82August 20250.83September 20250.83October 20250.83November 20250.83December 20250.84January 20260.84February 20260.85March 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 - Medicals9,05366.0%11.6 wks37.1 wks4020
Ophthalmology6,87070.5%10.7 wks33.8 wks2900
Other - Paediatrics6,22269.7%10.5 wks36.4 wks8960
Neurology6,11856.6%15.2 wks44.3 wks17430
Dermatology5,74268.1%10.4 wks41.2 wks6530
Other - Surgicals4,24172.1%8.7 wks36.5 wks101170
Gynaecology4,21152.6%16.6 wks50.9 wks310180
Trauma and Orthopaedic3,97751.6%17.4 wks45.2 wks121202
Cardiology3,75472.3%10.2 wks33.4 wks3200
Oral Surgery2,49552.9%16.9 wks45.4 wks111220
Urology2,42857.7%15.1 wks50.5 wks177566
Ear Nose and Throat1,71861.3%12.8 wks45.5 wks7560
Gastroenterology1,31877.6%10.0 wks26.9 wks000
Neurosurgical1,13469.9%11.1 wks34.1 wks400
Respiratory Medicine88685.4%7.6 wks23.1 wks100
General Surgery76557.1%15.3 wks51.8 wks6020
Rheumatology74179.9%8.9 wks23.5 wks000
Other - Others71785.4%6.0 wks28.5 wks100
Cardiothoracic Surgery51178.7%7.6 wks27.7 wks200
Elderly Medicine27495.3%6.6 wks15.6 wks000
General Internal Medicine14883.8%6.6 wks29.2 wks500

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.