Hospital league tables: find out how yours performed

Three star hospitals will get foundation status

Performance tables for hospitals in England have been published today, and the number given the top - or three star rating - has risen.

But there is also an increase in hospitals given no stars at all.

It's an important issue as only hospitals that have held three stars for two years in succession will be allowed to apply to become foundation hospitals.

Click here to find out how your local trust scored

Under controversial government plans, foundation hospitals will be given greater freedom to operate independently of Whitehall.

Four trusts that had been awarded three stars last year, and short listed for foundation status, have today lost a star and may be ineligible for the scheme.

Breakfast reported live from the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, which has performed disappointingly in today's league tables

We also heard from Birmingham University Hospital, which has been awarded a third star in consecutive years, meaning that it can now apply for trust status.

And, we talked live to the man in charge of the government's health policies, Dr John Reid

The Commission for Healthcare Improvement is responsible for today's star ratings which were awarded for the year 2002 to 2003.

All acute and specialist hospitals, ambulance trusts, mental health trusts and primary care trusts in England were assessed.

Hospitals in line for foundation status that won't now qualify Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust

This year 53 acute hospitals have been awarded three stars compared to 45 which were given the top rating last year.

But the latest tables show that this year 14 hospitals were given zero stars compared to 10 given the bottom ranking last year.

The four trusts which had been short listed for foundation status, but this year dropped from three to two stars, are Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust, Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust, Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust.

This is the first year that the star ratings have been done by CHI, which is the independent health watchdog.

Massive undertaking

Chairwoman Dame Deirdre Hine said: "This has been a massive undertaking, involving the processing of many thousands of pieces of data, with more trusts being rated than ever before.

"CHI is committed to increasing the transparency of the ratings process, and this year for the first time, trusts were told the indicators upon which they were to be assessed well in advance."