I am delighted that St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been rated as ‘outstanding’ by the CQC.

They received overwhelmingly positive feedback in many areas including leadership, culture and the care given to patients at Whiston and St Helens hospitals.

The trust has continued to build upon excellence that it has been consistently identified as achieving. It was classified as ‘outstanding’ in the 2015 CQC report, ranked as the ‘best acute trust in the NHS’ for three consecutive years and ranked as ‘the number one place to work and receive treatment in the country’ in the National NHS Staff Survey.

This success is particularly impressive as they achieved these fantastic results despite the harsh financial environment imposed by this Tory government. As the Tories continue to pressure our NHS, we must recognise and build upon the leadership and high standards at St Helens and Whiston hospitals.

I want to thank all those working in the trust – the nurses, doctors, medical, ancillary and all staff as well as chief executive Ann Marr and chairman Richard Fraser whose dedication and hard work have led to these outstanding achievements.