A hospital comparison site, which compares hospitals in south west London and Surrey against a number of official standards, has been launched.

Feedback from patients who have had first-hand experience of the treatment at the hospitals and from hospital staff will be available through the new service.

Prospective patients can find out a range of things about the hospital – from how long the average waiting time is to the highest rated hospital by patients who have had to stay there overnight.

People can also use the service to compare mortality rates at the hospitals, as well as how they scored in a national patient-led assessment which reviewed cleanliness, the quality of food and how they control and prevent infections like MRSA. 

So far the results are showing Epsom, Sutton and St Helier hospitals have performed better than neighbouring hospitals.

Chief executive of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Matthew Hopkins said: “As a trust, we are absolutely committed to being as open and transparent as we possibly can be. It’s important that local people know how we’re performing against key measures and can easily compare us to other local hospitals.

“Under the NHS Constitution, patients have a legal right to choose the hospital where they are treated and it’s important that they can make an informed decision on where to go.

“What we’re saying is: ‘we have nothing to hide – this is how we are performing and this is how we compare to everyone else’”.

People who use the service will find a simple table which shows whether Epsom, Sutton and St Helier hospitals have done "better," "worse" or "about the same" as all the other hospitals in the region, when measured against 10 key standards.

To find out more, visit epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/compare.