WARRINGTON Hospital has been given a clean bill of health in NHS Performance Tables published this week.

The Trust received the highest ranking - a five star award - in 35 of the 55 categories in which its performance was monitored.

The tables give star ratings against the percentage of patients seen within 13 weeks and 26 weeks and those admitted within three months and 12 months.

The hospital was also awarded:

four stars in 12 categories

three stars in one category

two stars in five categories

one star in two categories.

It means the Trust has built up its total star rating to 238, an increase of 20 stars on last year's figures.

The Trust's chief executive, Rosemary Knights, praised the effort of hospital staff.

She said: "Our continued improvement is a tribute to the dedication and professionalism of hospital staff at a time when public expectations are high and the number of patients treated is rising steadily."

And an NHS spokesman claimed the hospital's performance was one of the best in the region.

He added: "Warrington Hospital has had a very difficult winter but has performed extremely well against what has been a soaring rise in admissions."

Three categories - rheumatology, urology and oral surgery - all increased their star rating on last year's performance.

But stars were dropped in the trauma and orthopaedics, cardiology and ophthalmology categories.

A hospital spokesman blamed the ratings drop-off on "increased activity, which placed unexpectedly high demands on these services."

Now the Government is considering changing the way the performance levels are measured.

Currently the star ranking system is based on the speed of service and number of patients treated.

But Government proposals mean future performance levels could be monitored on the quality and standard of care given to patients.

Philip Hunt, chief executive of the NHS Confederation welcomed the proposals.

He added: "The current tables lack credibility because they fail to give the public any indication of the success of their local hospital in treating patients."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.