Health professionals question "star ratings" for NHS

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7358.236/a

BMJ 2002;325:236 ( 3 August )

News

Health professionals question "star ratings" for NHS

Anne Gulland, London
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The best performing hospitals in England are to be awarded up to £1m ($1.6m; 1.6m) each in the wake of government leaguetables published lastweek.

The performance tables give 46 acute trusts a three star rating (highest rating), 77 two stars ("performing well"), and 35a single star ("cause for concern"). Eight trusts are judged tobe so poor that they are given no stars. Health secretary AlanMilburn said the tables showed that hospitals were improving,but health professionals have questioned a grading system wherebyhospitals' performance can vary so much from year toyear.

David Wilson, chief executive of Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, one of three trusts to fall from a three star ratinglast year to one star this year, said that his trust was markeddown because it had one patient waiting more than 18 months foran operation and it had overspent its budget by 0.2%

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