A caesarean section is an operation to deliver a baby through a cut in the tummy and womb. It may be planned, usually from the 39th week of pregnancy, or done in an emergency if vaginal birth is too risky. Around 45% of babies born in England are delivered by caesarean.
Caesarean rates and other birth outcomes for each hospital are published by the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit, but not yet as a file we can use. This page shows how women rated their maternity care in the Care Quality Commission's maternity survey for each trust. Speak to your midwife about where to give birth.
Hospitals in the East Midlands
11 trusts in the East Midlands with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.
Hospital-level numbers for this specific operation are not published as open data. The activity column is context only: it shows the trust's overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R (pregnancy and childbirth) in 2025-26, from Hospital Episode Statistics, in bands. It covers many other procedures as well as this one, it is for the whole trust rather than one hospital, and it does not include private patients. It is not a count of this operation.
| Trust | Trust activity (context)Trust's overall NHS-funded activity, OPCS-4 chapter R (pregnancy and childbirth), 2025-26 (HES). Context only | Key outcomeNo hospital-level outcome data published | Waiting timeWhole trust | Patient experience | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Chesterfield Royal Hospital | 3,000 to 3,999Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 68 questions: 46 about the same as other trusts, 14 better than expected, 5 somewhat better than expected, 2 much better than expected, 1 worse than expected (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 | 4,000 to 4,999Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 66 questions: 63 about the same as other trusts, 2 better than expected, 1 somewhat better than expected (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 | Fewer than 3,000Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 66 questions: 3 worse than expected, 60 about the same as other trusts, 2 somewhat better than expected, 1 better than expected (whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Kettering General Hospital) |
| Leicestershire Partnership NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Loughborough Hospital, Melton Mowbray Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital | Fewer than 3,000Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No hospital-level outcome data published | Not published for this specialty | Not published | No rating |
| North West Anglia NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Stamford & Rutland Hospital | 5,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 68 questions: 60 about the same as other trusts, 4 somewhat better than expected, 4 better than expected (whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Stamford & Rutland Hospital) |
| Northampton General Hospital NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Northampton General Hospital | 3,000 to 3,999Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 66 questions: 49 about the same as other trusts, 11 better than expected, 2 much better than expected, 3 somewhat better than expected, 1 worse than expected (whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Northampton General Hospital) |
| Nottingham University Hospitals NHS TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Nottingham City Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre | 5,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 68 questions: 62 about the same as other trusts, 3 somewhat better than expected, 2 somewhat worse than expected, 1 worse than expected (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 | 3,000 to 3,999Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 64 questions: 53 about the same as other trusts, 5 somewhat worse than expected, 5 worse than expected, 1 somewhat better than expected (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 | 4,000 to 4,999Trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 68 questions: 53 about the same as other trusts, 9 better than expected, 4 somewhat better than expected, 1 somewhat worse than expected, 1 worse than expected (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 | 5,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 68 questions: 64 about the same as other trusts, 2 worse than expected, 1 somewhat worse than expected, 1 better than expected (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 | 5,000 or moreTrust’s overall NHS-funded activity in OPCS-4 chapter R, 2025-26. Context only, not a count of this operation. | No outcome data published for this operationMore measures
| Not published for this specialty | CQC Maternity Survey 2025, 68 questions: 62 about the same as other trusts, 2 somewhat better than expected, 3 somewhat worse than expected, 1 worse than expected (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) |
Across England
In 2025-26, NHS-funded care in England (NHS hospitals and NHS patients treated by independent providers; private patients are not included) recorded 244,968 episodes where the main procedure was planned and other caesarean deliveries (OPCS-4 R17 and R18). 0% were day cases. Half of the people admitted from a waiting list had waited less than about 15 days from the decision to admit them. These are national figures from Hospital Episode Statistics (NHS England, 2025-26, Open Government Licence v3.0); the same detail is not published for each hospital.
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.
- Trust activity (Hospital Episode Statistics). The bands show the trust’s overall NHS-funded activity in a whole chapter of the procedure classification (OPCS-4), for context. They are not a count of this operation, they are for the whole trust rather than one hospital, they exclude private patients, and we show bands only, not exact counts. Cut points are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of all 118 NHS trusts in England with activity in OPCS-4 chapter R in the published table, rounded.
- 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.
- 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
- Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26 (Hospital Episode Statistics), NHS England. Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26, NHS England, part of the Government Statistical Service (published 24 September 2026). Copyright © 2026, NHS England. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. NHS-funded activity only. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times, NHS England. Source: NHS England, Referral to Treatment waiting times. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity (DM01), NHS England. Source: NHS England, Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity (DM01). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC Maternity Survey 2025 (trust benchmark results), Care Quality Commission. Source: Care Quality Commission, NHS Patient Survey Programme, Maternity 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.
- Caesarean section (NHS website)
- Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26 (NHS England)
- Adult inpatient survey (Care Quality Commission)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.