EAST Cheshire NHS Trust has been named as one of the top 40 hospitals in the country by independent healthcare analysts CHKS for the third time in a row.

The trust made the 2013 40Top Hospitals list on the basis of evaluation carried out by CHKS around 22 key performance indicators, covering safety, clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care.

East Cheshire NHS Trust was also placed in the top 40 in 2012, 2011, 2006 and 2005, as well as being shortlisted for a much-coveted Quality of Care award in 2010.

John Wilbraham, chief executive of East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: “This is the fifth time that the efforts of all the staff at the trust have been recognised in this way.”