'I can't believe hospital is rated one of worst'

Patients have given a mixed reaction to new NHS league tables which have ranked their hospitals as some of the worst performing in the country.

Three NHS trusts across Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire have been ranked in the bottom 13 in a league table of 134 acute hospital trusts in England.

Edward Wyatt, a patient at Scunthorpe General Hospital, said the service was "top notch" and the hospital should have been rated "much higher".

A Humber Health Partnership spokesperson said its trusts were "disappointed" by the rating. Prof Karen Dunderdale, group chief executive for Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group, said they had "made significant improvements in recent years".

The league table, published by the Department of Health and Social Care, scores NHS trusts on seven different areas including waiting times for operations, cancer treatment, time spent in A&E and ambulance response times.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust was ranked in the bottom 10 for performance, placed at 125.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust came in at 122, with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust behind it at 123.

Mr Wyatt, from Ealand, said his experience at Scunthorpe General Hospital was positive, with "quick appointments, good service and good outcomes".

He said: "The service is really top notch, we come from Newcastle and I don't know where they are on the league table, but this [hospital] should be much higher than that."

Michael Rudkin, from Crowle, said he had also had positive experiences at the hospital and described staff as "very kind, friendly and efficient".

"It is interesting, I can't believe it because I think they're really good in there," he said.

Tony Thrustle, 71, a patient at Hull Royal Infirmary, said: "There's something wrong somewhere, there must be, because they've been fantastic to me."

Despite the positive experiences, there were some patients who were not surprised by the outcome.

Glen Holmes, 53, who brought a family member to Hull Royal Infirmary, on Monday night, said he noticed people were "queuing down the corridor".

"I don't know what the answer is, but it's not acceptable," he said.

Elisabeth Welsh, from Barrow, said there were "long waits for appointments" at Scunthorpe General Hospital.

The Humber Health Partnership said it was "working to strengthen and improve services" through a "clinically led improvement plan" targeted to tackle immediate problems, strengthen services and support clinicians.

"We know that actions speak louder than words though which is why we will continue to provide updates on our progress so our patients and communities can see what we are doing and hold us to account," they added.

Ms Dunderdale listed quality of care, bringing down waiting lists and access to services as areas that had been improved across Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Trust in "recent years".

"We do also acknowledge that we still have more to do, and have a focus on improving the working lives of our staff, the performance of our urgent and emergency care pathways and shifting care out of our acute hospitals and into the community," she added.

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