HospitalCheck

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Wirral, CH49 5PE · 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
65.4% within 18 weeks · standard 92% · About this data
A&E
Below NHS standard
59.0% within 4 hours · standard 95% · About this data
Cancer
Below NHS standard
78.0% treated within 62 days · standard 85% · About this data
Diagnostics
Below NHS standard
4.9% 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

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust reported 11,431 A&E attendances in July 2026, with 59% of patients seen within four hours. In June 2026, the median waiting time for treatment was 12 weeks, and 65.4% of patients were seen within 18 weeks of referral.

Automatically generated from the official figures on this page and checked to restate only those figures. Last generated 16 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
65.4%
National median: 66.3%
▲ 2.9 pts vs yr agoBetter than 45% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Typical (median) wait
12.0 wks
National median: 11.7 wks
▼ 1.0 wks vs yr agoBetter than 43% of trustsData: Jun 2026
Patients on the waiting list
45,228
National median: 39,587
▼ 1,711 vs yr agoData: Jun 2026
Waiting over a year
320
National median: 358.5
▼ 982 vs yr agoBetter than 52% of trustsData: Jun 2026
A&E patients seen within 4 hours
59.0%
National median: 74.2%
▼ 1.9 pts vs yr agoBetter than 4% of trustsData: Jul 2026
A&E attendances
11,431
National median: 14,642
▲ 188 vs yr agoData: Jul 2026
12-hour trolley waits
575
National median: 194
▼ 135 vs yr agoBetter than 23% of trustsData: Jul 2026

A&E performance

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

A&E attendances
11,431
All department types · latest month
Seen within 4 hours
59.0%
All department types · NHS standard: 95%
Waited over 12 hours
575
From decision-to-admit ('trolley waits')
Emergency admissions
4,166
All department types · latest month
Major A&E only (Type 1)
Attendances
8,631
Seen within 4 hours
46.0%

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)11,43159.0%
Type 1 — major A&E8,63146.0%
Type 3 — minor injury / UTC2,80099.1%

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

Cancer waiting times

Latest month: June 2026.

Faster diagnosis (28 days)
79.6%
1,804 of 2,265 treated in time
Target 75% · meets target
Treatment within 62 days
78.0%
167 of 214 treated in time
Target 85% · below target
Treatment within 31 days
94.2%
260 of 276 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%78.0%76.0%April 202576.2%May 202578.6%June 202575.8%July 202575.1%August 202575.2%September 202575.4%October 202573.2%November 202570.0%December 202570.7%January 202674.7%February 202675.9%March 202678.6%April 202676.2%May 202678.0%June 2026
Faster diagnosis (28 days)
Referral to diagnosis or ruling-out
70%80%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 75%79.6%71.6%April 202567.5%May 202573.5%June 202572.4%July 202567.4%August 202563.1%September 202566.1%October 202567.1%November 202569.9%December 202565.8%January 202676.9%February 202684.0%March 202678.8%April 202679.3%May 202679.6%June 2026
Treated within 31 days
Decision to treat to first treatment
90%95%Apr 25Jan 26NHS standard 96%94.2%90.1%April 202592.9%May 202592.4%June 202591.0%July 202590.1%August 202591.3%September 202593.5%October 202587.8%November 202589.5%December 202590.8%January 202692.0%February 202691.8%March 202691.2%April 202692.9%May 202694.2%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
96.8%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
1.4%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
2,002
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
76.1%
Responses as a share of those eligible
Urgent & emergency care (A&E)
% would recommend
74.9%
Rated care 'good' or 'very good'
% would not recommend
14.9%
Rated care 'poor' or 'very poor'
Responses
638
Number of patients who gave feedback
Response rate
9.5%
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
52.7%
Agreed · 2025 NHS Staff Survey▼ 5.4 pts vs 2024Median English trust: 63.9%
Staff engagement
6.35
out of 10 · 2025
Would recommend as a place to work
46.9%
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
55
elective ops cancelled on the day, non-clinical reasons
Not rebooked within 28 days
23
the NHS standard is a new date within 28 days
% not rebooked in time
41.8%
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
93.8%
709 occupied of 756 open
Adult critical care occupancy
44.4%
8 occupied of 18 open
Ambulance handovers over 30 minutes
43.7%
of 9,363 handovers, winter 2025-26
Ambulance handovers over 60 minutes
12.8%
of 9,363 handovers, winter 2025-26
Medically fit but not discharged
123
patients/day who no longer met the criteria to reside but stayed in hospital, week to 29 March 2026
Discharged when fit
41%
of 1,449 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 102 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
34.2%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
102
Of 300 sampled
Confidence & trust in staff (antenatal care)
8.1/10
About the same as most trusts
Kindness & compassion (labour & birth)
9.3/10
About the same as most trusts
Involved in decisions about care (labour & birth)
9.1/10
About the same as most trusts
Got help from staff when needed (in hospital, after the birth)
7.5/10
About the same as most trusts
Confidence & trust in your midwife (postnatal care at home)
8.5/10
About the same as most trusts
Midwife listened to you (postnatal care at home)
9.0/10
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.

Wirral Arrowe Park Hospital
D42.5/100
Cheshire and Mersey
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentD
Specialist pathwayD
ReperfusionD
MDT assessmentB
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyD
Standards by dischargeD
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A
Wirral Clatterbridge Rehabilitation Centre
D52.0/100
Cheshire and Mersey
Domain grades (patient-centred)
Hyperacute assessmentE
Specialist pathwayE
ReperfusionC
MDT assessmentC
Therapy intensityC
Therapy frequencyD
Standards by dischargeD
Case ascertainment AAudit compliance A

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

Hip fracture care (NHFD audit)

Wirral University Teaching Hospital 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.

Arrowe Park HospitalBest-practice 66.5%505 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 332 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
27.8%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
332
Of 1,250 sampled
Quality of information while waiting to be admitted
7.9/10
National average: 7.6/10
About the same as the national average
Cleanliness of your room or ward
9.0/10
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
9.1/10
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
7.4/10
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
7.4/10
National average: 6.9/10
About the same as the national average
Knew what would happen next with your care, before leaving hospital
6.8/10
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 300 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
24.9%
Share of those sampled who responded
Respondents
300
Of 1,250 sampled
Overall experience of A&E
7.4/10
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
4.7/10
National average: 3.4/10
Better than the national average
Doctors and nurses listened to you
8.7/10
National average: 8.3/10
About the same as the national average
Confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
8.4/10
National average: 8.1/10
About the same as the national average
Involved in decisions about your care
8.1/10
National average: 7.4/10
Better than the national average
Test results explained before you left
7.8/10
National average: 7.5/10
About the same as the national average
Felt safe around other patients
7.7/10
National average: 7.8/10
About the same as the national average
Told how to care for your condition at home after leaving
7.5/10
National average: 6.8/10
About the same as the national average
Treated with respect and dignity
8.5/10
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 210 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
210
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
79%
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
79%
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
75%
National average: 74%
About the same as the national average
Given enough information about signs of cancer returning or spreading
64%
National average: 65%
About the same as the national average
The whole care team worked well together
87%
National average: 89%
About the same as the national average
Got the support needed from your GP practice since diagnosis
43%
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): 23.3
Patients
170
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
98.2%
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)
18.3
Oxford Score, case-mix-adjusted, 0-48 scale
Raw gain (unadjusted): 18.1
Patients
157
Modelled records — completed the questionnaire before & after
% who improved
94.3%
Oxford Score higher after surgery than before
EQ-5D Index gain (adjusted)
0.33
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
4.9%
of 8,972 patients on the diagnostic waiting list
TestWaiting list6+ weeks6+ weeks (count)13+ weeks
Flexi Sigmoidoscopy11426.3%301
Colonoscopy44021.8%964
Gastroscopy44014.8%651
Cystoscopy25911.6%300
Cardiology1,0379.5%9813
Urodynamics508.0%40
MRI1,3643.4%470
Ultrasound3,4051.7%594
CT scan8921.5%130
Respiratory physiology4580.4%20
DEXA Scan4960.0%00
Waiting 6+ weeks for a diagnostic test
All tests combined
5%10%Apr 25Jan 264.9%12.2%April 202512.0%May 20259.1%June 20259.3%July 202511.2%August 202512.6%September 20255.3%October 20255.4%November 20259.2%December 20258.3%January 20263.0%February 20266.4%March 20268.0%April 20264.2%May 20264.9%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 bacteraemia32
C. difficile199101
E. coli bacteraemia29556
MSSA bacteraemia7613
Klebsiella bacteraemia7417
Pseudomonas bacteraemia289
Hospital-onset cases per month
All infections combined
1020Dec 23Jan 25Jan 26207December 202325January 202415February 202414March 202419April 202421May 202414June 202413July 202415August 202425September 202413October 202422November 202423December 202414January 202518February 202519March 202516April 202517May 20257June 202519July 202522August 202511September 202513October 202511November 202515December 202522January 202623February 202619March 202619April 20268May 202615June 202620July 2026

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

Mortality (SHMI)

12 months to Mar 2026.

As expected
1.01
SHMI value (1.00 = as many deaths as expected) · 1,980 deaths vs 1,950 expected
SHMI over time
Rolling 12-month value
1.001.10Dec 18Jan 20Jan 21Jan 22Jan 23Jan 24Jan 25Jan 26As expected (1.00)1.011.03December 20181.05January 20191.06February 20191.07March 20191.08April 20191.07May 20191.08June 20191.10July 20191.10August 20191.11September 20191.11October 20191.11November 20191.13December 20191.13January 20201.13February 20201.15March 20201.15April 20201.15May 20201.14June 20201.13July 20201.12August 20201.12September 20201.10October 20201.09November 20201.07December 20201.07January 20211.08February 20211.05March 20211.05April 20211.06May 20211.06June 20211.07July 20211.07August 20211.06September 20211.07October 20211.06November 20211.07December 20211.06January 20221.07February 20221.06March 20221.06April 20221.06May 20221.05June 20221.04July 20221.06August 20221.06September 20221.06October 20221.07November 20221.06December 20221.05January 20231.04February 20231.06March 20231.06April 20231.06May 20231.07June 20231.08July 20231.06August 20231.07September 20231.08October 20231.07November 20231.04December 20231.04January 20241.03February 20241.03March 20241.03April 20241.02May 20241.02June 20240.95July 20240.98August 20240.98September 20240.98October 20240.97November 20240.97December 20240.99January 20250.98February 20250.97March 20251.00April 20251.02May 20251.01June 20251.03July 20251.04August 20251.04September 20251.03October 20251.05November 20251.06December 20251.02January 20261.03February 20261.01March 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 - Surgicals4,22064.6%11.7 wks38.6 wks3200
Ear Nose and Throat4,05955.9%15.8 wks39.8 wks2700
Respiratory Medicine3,89957.4%15.2 wks35.2 wks600
Other - Medicals3,77174.2%10.3 wks29.5 wks800
Other - Others3,48989.3%6.6 wks20.4 wks400
Ophthalmology3,42661.7%14.2 wks36.7 wks1400
Dermatology3,23963.4%11.4 wks42.3 wks6300
Gastroenterology3,16462.9%12.6 wks39.9 wks1700
Gynaecology2,97763.2%13.1 wks36.7 wks900
Trauma and Orthopaedic2,61253.4%16.6 wks42.2 wks2000
Oral Surgery2,49152.1%17.4 wks41.4 wks1500
Other - Paediatrics2,47579.0%9.4 wks32.3 wks200
Urology2,00675.4%9.8 wks30.2 wks000
Cardiology1,49271.4%11.0 wks30.9 wks300
Rheumatology1,29049.3%18.4 wks51.7 wks10000
General Surgery39180.8%9.6 wks23.0 wks000
Elderly Medicine16796.4%5.9 wks14.7 wks000
General Internal Medicine6081.7%3.4 wks46.2 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.