A HOSPITAL trust has been singled out for praise after being named in a top 40 national list.

Every year the independent healthcare researcher, CHKS, names its top 40 UK hospitals based on 21 key performance indicators.

For the second year running Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust made the list.

Chief executive of the trust, Tim Higginson, said: "I am delighted the hard work of our staff and their continuing dedication to improving patient care has been recognised with this award."

Performance indicators used to form the list covered safety, clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care.

Many of these results were based on patient surveys, while others were taken from hospital records.

Staff from all 40 of the top hospitals were invited to an award ceremony at The Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) base in Westminster.

Managing director of CHKS, Jason Harries, was on hand to present each hospital with a trophy.

He said: "NHS spending in England has more than doubled in real terms and there have been important improvements along the way.

"There have been sustained reductions in waiting times for most hospital treatments - the number of people on waiting lists has halved."

Meanwhile, director of research at CHKS, James Coles, said: “We are delighted that the Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust has been named as one of our 40 top hospitals 2010.

"These awards recognise outstanding performance in 21 areas which we believe are critical to delivering good patient care.”

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