The NHS will rate trusts according to how well they tackle racism, violence and sexual misconduct towards staff, the government has announced.
From July, all NHS acute, ambulance and mental health trusts in England will be judged and ranked in published league tables on six main measures of wellbeing, affecting more than 1.5 million staff.
All secondary care NHS bodies are affected by the announcement. Primary care, which includes GP practices, is excluded for now, but ministers hope to roll it out there in “future years”.
The new performance standards will rate hospitals and ambulance services on success in tackling racism, preventing violence, improving sexual safety, promoting flexible working, line management, and health and wellbeing support. They will receive a score of one to four for each measure, which will contribute to trusts’ overall ratings.
For the first time, trusts’ progress on workforce wellbeing – assessed via the NHS staff survey – will directly affect their overall performance rating alongside waiting list and A&E metrics.
The minister for secondary care, Karin Smyth, said: “NHS staff are the backbone of our health service, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
“The levels of racism, violence and sexual harassment reported by staff are completely unacceptable, and for too long there has been no formal accountability for employers to address them.
“These new standards – a 10-year health plan commitment – change that. For the first time, how trusts treat their employees will be measured and published, because we know that when staff are supported, patients get better care.”
Source: The Guardian, 6 July 2026
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