Two Staffordshire NHS trusts have been named as the best in the country in a newly published government league table.

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare and Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT) are ranked one and two respectively in NHS England's new league table for non-acute hospital trusts.

All 61 non-acute trusts in England were rated across a range of metrics, including quality of care, patient safety, finance and productivity, and then ranked according to their average score.

Separate tables have been published for acute trusts and ambulance trusts. University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) is ranked joint 83rd out of 134 acute trusts, while West Midlands Ambulance Service is placed sixth out of 10 ambulance trusts.

The government says the publication of the new league tables marks 'a new era of transparency and accountability' in the NHS, and claims they will help drive up standards. Top performing trusts will be rewarded with greater autonomy, such as the ability to reinvest surplus funds into new equipment and upgrades.

Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust was ranked 2nd in the non-acute NHS league table. (LDRS)

North Staffs Combined provides a range of mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and primary care services, including Harplands Hospital and the Darwin Centre. The league table data shows that North Staffs Combined is ranked highly for children and young people's access to mental health services, length of stay for in-patients and the trust's current financial performance.

Chief executive Dr Buki Adeyemo welcomed her trust's ranking at the top of the league table. She said: "The trust board is proud that the effort of our people has been recognised in the new NHS Oversight Framework.

"Every day I see the dedication and commitment it takes to achieve this level of performance, and I am humbled by it.

"Our ambition is to be outstanding in everything we do and how we do it. We remain fully committed to improving the wellbeing of the people and families of our local communities – those we are privileged to serve. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible."

MPFT provides physical and mental health, learning disability and social care services across Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and Shropshire. Its provision includes community hospitals such as Haywood Hospital and Leek Moorlands. Like Combined Healthcare, MPFT is classed as 'high performing', with good scores for access to services, finance, effectiveness of care and safety.

"Some way to go" for UHNM 

UHNM, which runs the Royal Stoke and County Hospital, is ranked in the middle of the acute trust league table and is classed as being 'below average'.

The trust's well-publicised issues with A&E delays see it ranked lowly for urgent and emergency care, with UHNM also doing badly in terms of MRSA infections and productivity, according to the league table data. But UHNM is the best performing acute trust for long waits for community services and e-coli infections.

Dr Simon Constable is the cheif executive of UHNM, the trust running the Royal Stoke.

Dr Simon Constable, UHNM chief executive, said: "UHNM welcomes today's publication of the NHS league tables. Over the past year, we've made real progress, reducing waiting times for planned operations and improving flow through our hospitals, so people who need urgent care get it as quickly as possible.

"Our ranking shows we still have some way to go and looking ahead, we will continue to focus on improving our urgent and emergency care performance while also prioritising our longest waits, with clear actions in place to make real change.

"We will also continue to work with our partners across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System to remove duplication and streamline processes to deliver high quality care so that every organisation can meet its obligation to meet their financial challenges."