THE trust which manages Whiston and St Helens hospitals has been named the best performing healthcare organisation in Cheshire and Merseyside and one of the highest in England for quality care.

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is rated 15th out of 146 hospital trusts across the country by the MHP Health Mandate Quality Index.

This independent measure assesses whether hospitals are capable of delivering the standards of care that the public expect and deserve.

A range of assessments were carried out and data examined including information provided by the Department of Health, Care Quality Commission (CQC), Office of National Statistics and patient opinion through NHS Choices.

Evidence included if patients are supported effectively throughout their treatment, how quickly care is received following diagnosis and the number of patients who said that they had a good experience at the hospital.

Ann Marr, chief executive, who lives in Widnes, said: “The result from the MHP Health Mandate Quality Index is excellent news, staff at the trust work very hard to provide high standards of care to our patients.”