Surgery is usually the main treatment for breast cancer. Depending on the size of the cancer and whether it has spread, you may have only the cancer removed (breast-conserving surgery) or the whole breast removed (mastectomy). Other treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted medicines.
The National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer publishes results for each NHS trust. One measure is how often women need a further operation after breast-conserving surgery, for example because some cancer cells were found at the edge of the tissue removed.
Hospitals in the East Midlands
10 trusts in the East Midlands with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.
| Trust | Volume bandWomen having breast cancer surgery, 2021 to 2023 (NAoPri) | Key outcomeFurther operation after breast-conserving surgery (adjusted) | Waiting timeWhole trust | Patient experience | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Chesterfield Royal Hospital | 600 to 999753 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 15.9%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 75.4%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.1 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Chesterfield Royal Hospital) |
| Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Bassetlaw District General Hospital, Retford Hospital | 600 to 999747 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 13.9%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 72.4%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Bassetlaw District General Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Bassetlaw District General Hospital) Retford Hospital: Good (CQC report for Retford Hospital) |
| Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Kettering General Hospital | 600 to 999620 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 18.7%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 47.1%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.1 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Kettering General Hospital) |
| North West Anglia NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Stamford & Rutland Hospital | 600 to 999892 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 20.7%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 69.6%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | Somewhat worse than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 7.8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Stamford & Rutland Hospital) |
| Northampton General Hospital NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Northampton General Hospital | 600 to 999770 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 14.9%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 65.1%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | Worse than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 7.7 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Northampton General Hospital) |
| Nottingham University Hospitals NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Nottingham City Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre | 1,500 or more1,569 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 12.5%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 63.4%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Nottingham City Hospital: Good (CQC report for Nottingham City Hospital) Queen's Medical Centre: Requires improvement (CQC report for Queen's Medical Centre) |
| Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: King’s Mill Hospital, Newark Hospital | 600 to 999629 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 22.2%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 64.9%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.5 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | King's Mill Hospital: Good (CQC report for King's Mill Hospital) Newark Hospital: Good (CQC report for Newark Hospital) |
| United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Grantham and District Hospital, John Coupland Hospital, Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital, Skegness & District Hospital | 1,000 to 1,4991,203 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 15.1%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 45%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 7.9 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Grantham and District Hospital: Good (CQC report for Grantham and District Hospital) Lincoln County Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Lincoln County Hospital) Pilgrim Hospital: Good (CQC report for Pilgrim Hospital) |
| University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Royal Derby Hospital | 1,500 or more1,829 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 21.4%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 37.2%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Royal Derby Hospital) |
| University Hospitals of Leicester NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Glenfield Hospital, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary | 1,500 or more1,893 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 10.8%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 26.6%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Glenfield Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Glenfield Hospital) Leicester General Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Leicester General Hospital) Leicester Royal Infirmary: Requires improvement (CQC report for Leicester Royal Infirmary) |
How to read this
- Not a ranking. The table is in alphabetical order. A higher volume does not on its own mean better care, and we do not combine the columns into a score.
- Volume bands. Cut points are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of all 115 NHS trusts in the NAoPri table in the published table, rounded. So about a quarter of NHS trusts in the NAoPri table fall in each band. The exact number is shown under the band.
- Risk adjustment. Where a figure says “adjusted”, the audit has allowed for differences in the patients each hospital treats, such as age and other illnesses. Hospitals that take on more complex cases can still look different for reasons the adjustment does not capture.
- Bands and limits. We only say a result is higher or lower than expected when the source itself says so (for example NJR outlier status, NELA funnel limits, SSNAP levels, CQC survey bands). Where the source publishes a rate without limits we show the rate and the national figure, and say “No banding published”.
- Small numbers. A small hospital can have 0% or a high percentage by chance. Figures the source suppresses are shown as “Not published (small numbers)”.
- Trust or hospital. This audit publishes figures for each NHS trust, which may run several hospitals. The operation may only be done at one of them.
- Different periods. Each figure has its own period, shown next to it. Audit results describe operations done one to three years ago; waiting times are updated monthly.
- National figures. National figures are England (unadjusted), from the NAoPri data tables.
- Talk to your GP or consultant about what the figures mean for you. If you are referred for planned care in England, you can usually choose your hospital.
Full definitions: methodology and data dictionary.
Data sources and licences
- National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer (NAoPri) State of the Nation 2026 data tables, NATCAN for HQIP. Source: National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer (NAoPri), NATCAN / HQIP, 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
- Cancer Waiting Times (provider extract), NHS England. Source: NHS England, Cancer Waiting Times. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025 (trust benchmark results), Care Quality Commission. Source: Care Quality Commission, NHS Patient Survey Programme, Adult Inpatient Survey 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC ratings, Care Quality Commission. CQC ratings: Care Quality Commission. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Healthcare-associated infections: annual counts and rates by trust (financial year 2025 to 2026), UK Health Security Agency. Source: UK Health Security Agency, healthcare-associated infection annual data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
Data last updated 26 October 2026. We do not change the published figures; we only group volumes into bands. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Sources
We checked this guide against these official pages on 26 October 2026.
- Treatment for breast cancer in women (NHS website)
- National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer (NATCAN)
- Cancer Waiting Times (NHS England)
- Adult inpatient survey (Care Quality Commission)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.