Prostate cancer surgery in the North East: hospitals compared

Prostate cancer does not always need treatment straight away: small cancers that are not causing problems may be monitored instead. When treatment is needed, options include surgery to remove the prostate gland (radical prostatectomy), radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

After a radical prostatectomy some men have problems such as leaking urine or erection problems. The National Prostate Cancer Audit publishes, for each surgical centre, how often men were readmitted as an emergency and how often they needed a further procedure for a urinary complication. Only some trusts carry out this operation, usually in specialist centres.

Hospitals in the North East

3 trusts in the North East with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.

Prostate cancer surgery (radical prostatectomy): trusts in the North East, Men having a radical prostatectomy (NPCA)
TrustVolume bandMen having a radical prostatectomy (NPCA)Key outcomeReadmission within 90 days (adjusted)Waiting timeWhole trustPatient experienceCQC rating
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Freeman Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary250 or more287 men who had a radical prostatectomy (Men who underwent a radical prostatectomy between 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025)14.2%National: 11.6%No banding published
More measures
  • Urinary complication needing a procedure within 2 years (adjusted): 6.4%National: 5.8%
  • Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI), whole trust: 0.93 (As expected) 2025-06 to 2026-05
  • C. difficile infections that started in hospital (whole trust, not adjusted for case mix): 130 cases, 28.0 per 100,000 bed-days FY2025-26
  • MRSA bloodstream infections that started in hospital (whole trust, not adjusted for case mix): 6 cases FY2025-26
59.4%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 67.9%), June to August 2026, provisionalAbout the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust)Freeman Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Freeman Hospital)
Royal Victoria Infirmary: Not Rated (CQC report for Royal Victoria Infirmary)
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: East Cleveland Primary Care Hospital, Redcar Primary Care Hospital, The James Cook University Hospital150 to 249173 men who had a radical prostatectomy (Men who underwent a radical prostatectomy between 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025)15.6%National: 11.6%No banding published
More measures
  • Urinary complication needing a procedure within 2 years (adjusted): 8.5%National: 5.8%
  • Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI), whole trust: 1.02 (As expected) 2025-06 to 2026-05
  • C. difficile infections that started in hospital (whole trust, not adjusted for case mix): 92 cases, 29.3 per 100,000 bed-days FY2025-26
  • MRSA bloodstream infections that started in hospital (whole trust, not adjusted for case mix): 6 cases FY2025-26
57.7%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 67.9%), June to August 2026, provisionalAbout the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust)Redcar Primary Care Hospital: Good (CQC report for Redcar Primary Care Hospital)
The James Cook University Hospital: Good (CQC report for The James Cook University Hospital)
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS FTWhole trust. Hospitals: South Tyneside District Hospital, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital150 to 249164 men who had a radical prostatectomy (Men who underwent a radical prostatectomy between 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025)8.1%National: 11.6%No banding published
More measures
  • Urinary complication needing a procedure within 2 years (adjusted): 4.4%National: 5.8%
  • Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI), whole trust: 1.19 (Higher than expected) 2025-06 to 2026-05
  • C. difficile infections that started in hospital (whole trust, not adjusted for case mix): 58 cases, 16.5 per 100,000 bed-days FY2025-26
  • MRSA bloodstream infections that started in hospital (whole trust, not adjusted for case mix): 3 cases FY2025-26
73.9%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 67.9%), June to August 2026, provisionalAbout the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust)South Tyneside District Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for South Tyneside District Hospital)
Sunderland Royal Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Sunderland Royal Hospital)
Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital: Good (CQC report for Sunderland Specialist Eye 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.
  • Volume bands. Cut points are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of all 51 surgical centres in the NPCA table in the published table, rounded. So about a quarter of surgical centres in the NPCA 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 the average of all surgical centres in the NPCA table, weighted by number of operations (our calculation); the table has no national row.
  • 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

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.

Spotted something out of date? Tell us.