It’s been a challenging time for the NHS, with patients facing long waiting lists following the Covid pandemic.
In April 2025, the British Medical Association revealed that there were 7.42 million people on waiting lists in England, adding that it “would take years to clear the backlog”, with more patients than ever left waiting for treatment.
Despite this, hospitals and treatment centres are still performing well. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have assessed hospital and treatment centres in the North East.
The CQC is in charge of regulating all health and social care services in England. This includes health facilities such as hospitals, dentists, ambulances, and care homes, helping provide patients with the information they need so they can make choices about their care.
Inspectors judge each health and social care service based on the five CQC standards which include - Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led, with four ratings available - Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate.
These ratings must be displayed by law where patients can easily see them, such as in the main entrance of a hospital or a GP waiting room.
To help you find out how your local hospital and treatment centre has been performing, we’ve put together a list of all the CQC ratings of every hospital and treatment centre in the North East, ranked from highest to lowest rating.
The CQC ratings for Newcastle – CHEC and Newcastle – Newmedica are not available at this time as their services have not been inspected as of yet.
1. Northumbria Health Care NHS Foundation Trust
Northumbria Health Care NHS Foundation Trust has been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission. Spanning ten hospitals in the North East, their services have been judged as performing exceptionally well, scoring an outstanding rating for being effective, caring, responsive and for use of resources. | Google Maps
2. Stockton on Tees – Spamedica
Stockton on Tees Spamedica has been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission. The eye hospital which provides cataract care was rated outstanding for being effective, responsive and for surgery. | Google Maps
3. Cobalt Hospital – Ramsay
Cobalt Hospital Ramsay was rated good by Care Quality Commission. Part of Ramsay Health Care's UK hospital network, it scored good ratings across all five categories - safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led. | Google Maps
4. County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust was rated good by the Care Quality Commission. Serving a population of over 650,000 patients, they scored rankings of good in five out of the six categories, including - effective, caring, responsive, well-led and use of resources. | Google Maps