West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been ranked as the 6th best in England for trusts offering acute, general services - in the latest performance league table published by the NHS.
The National Oversight Framework placed West Herts, which operates hospitals in Watford, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans, as a Top 10 trust within acute, non-specialist hospitals.
Even after specialist Trusts – such as children’s and eye hospitals - are included in the tables, West Herts is still rated as 17th out of 134 trusts, rising 15 places from 32nd in the final quarter of 2025/26.
The latest results also see the Trust move from Segment 3 to Segment 1 (High Performing), placing it among the best performing NHS trusts nationally.
Trusts are assessed across seven areas, including performance on waiting times for operations, cancer treatment and A&E, alongside quality and financial measures.
The rankings form part of NHS England’s NHS Oversight Framework, which brings together a range of measures to assess the performance of NHS organisations, placing trusts into four segments: Segment 1: High Performing; Segment 2: Above Average; Segment 3: Below Average / Financial Deficit; Segment 4: Low Performing.
Rachel Thorman, chief operating officer at West Herts, said:
“This is a fantastic achievement and a real testament to the hard work and commitment of colleagues right across West Herts.
“Moving into the highest-performing segment represents significant progress for our organisation but most importantly, every number represents an improvement for our patients, in their experience and access to treatment and care. It shows what our teams are achieving every day for our patients.
“We know there is always more we can do to improve, but it is important that we recognise how far we have come. I want to thank everyone across the Trust whose dedication, expertise and teamwork have contributed to these results.
“Our focus now is on building on this progress and continuing to provide the best possible care and experience for our patients.”
NHS England introduced the national rankings in June 2025 to provide greater transparency about the performance of NHS organisations and identify where improvement or additional support may be needed.
Organisations in Segment 1 are considered to have the narrowest range of performance challenges and are given the greatest level of autonomy.
The framework also enables NHS organisations to learn from high-performing trusts and supports greater public accountability by bringing key performance information together in one place.
The latest performance data is available through NHS England’s public portal: West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – Acute provider – NHS Oversight Framework - NHS England public data gateway.