Publish date: 9 September 2025
Inpatient experience at Northumberland and North Tyneside hospitals continues to rate among the best nationally
Patients continue to report positive experiences – among the best in the country - during hospital stays in Northumberland and North Tyneside.
The latest national adult inpatient survey has highlighted Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as a top performer for a fourth year in a row.
The results were published today (Tuesday, 9 September) by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). They are based on the experiences of 62,400 patients who used NHS adult inpatient services during November 2024.
Northumbria Healthcare, which runs the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, Hexham, Wansbeck and North Tyneside general hospitals, and community hospitals in Alnwick, Berwick, Blyth and Haltwhistle, has been highlighted in an outliers report for performing ‘better than expected’.
Of the 12 trusts where performance was better or much than expected, Northumbria was the only general acute trust, with the others being specialist trusts with a specific focus on the likes of cancer or orthopaedics.
Dr Birju Bartoli, the trust’s chief executive, said: “Being a positive outlier in this instance simply means that we have managed to give the patients we care for a positive experience when they are with us. I am incredibly proud of that because it is at the very heart of what our teams strive to do day in, day out.
“This is a tribute to the commitment of our staff, who continue to work incredibly hard to try to put patients first in everything that they do. The survey relates to November 2024, and it is no secret that the NHS and hospitals have been having a hard time through recent winters, which makes this even more of an achievement.”
Of the 12 survey sections, Northumbria’s responses were better than most trusts in two and somewhat better in 6 others.
Questions which scored particularly strongly included those about patients being able to sleep properly and the wait to be admitted.
Dr Bartoli added: “My thanks go out to everyone in our teams who supports inpatient care across all our sites. I know we will not be sitting on this achievement but using the feedback to continue to improve the care we deliver for patients and their loved ones.”
Monitoring patient experience is a constant process at Northumbria Healthcare and an integral part of improving patient care. Find out more about the experience team.
Today (Tuesday, 9 September) also saw NHS England launch its new interactive dashboard under the NHS Oversight Framework. Northumbria Healthcare ranked 9th overall and was the highest non-specialist trust.
Dr Bartoli said: "Patients are at the heart of everything we do, we know time is of real importance to them and that is why we focus so closely on the core performance metrics and what that means for local people.
“These high standards are driven by the hard work and dedication of our teams across the trust, who are committed to providing the best possible care for the communities we serve in Northumberland and North Tyneside.
“I'm extremely proud of what our trust is achieving for our patients and families, and I am particularly proud of our teams who have a culture of continuous improvement, wanting to try and deliver the best care they can for our local communities.”
Media contact
Ben O'Connell, external communications manager