A stroke is a medical emergency: call 999 if you notice signs such as a face drooping on one side, weakness in one arm or slurred speech. Treatment in the first hours may include medicine to dissolve a blood clot (thrombolysis) or a procedure to remove it (thrombectomy).
Ambulances take people with a suspected stroke to a hospital with a specialist stroke unit. In some areas this is a hyperacute stroke unit (HASU) for the first days, followed by a stroke unit closer to home. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) gives every team a level from A to E each quarter, based on how well it meets national standards.
Hospitals in the South East
20 stroke teams in the South East with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.
| Stroke team | Volume bandStroke patients, January to March 2026 (SSNAP) | Key outcomeSSNAP level (A to E) | Waiting timeWhole trust | Patient experience | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darent Valley HospitalStroke team · NHS · Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | 150 to 249209 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 45 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | Worse than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 7.7 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Darent Valley Hospital) |
| East Surrey HospitalStroke team · NHS · Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust | 150 to 249154 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 37.5 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for East Surrey Hospital) |
| Eastbourne District General HospitalStroke team · NHS · East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust | 150 to 249242 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 38 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Eastbourne District General Hospital) |
| Epsom General HospitalStroke team · NHS · Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust | 75 to 14992 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 26.1 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 7.9 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Epsom General Hospital) |
| Frimley Park HospitalStroke team · NHS · Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust | 250 or more251 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 51.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Frimley Park Hospital) |
| John Radcliffe HospitalStroke team · NHS · Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249221 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level BScore 70 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for John Radcliffe Hospital) |
| Maidstone HospitalStroke team · NHS · Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust | 150 to 249241 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 54 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | 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 Maidstone Hospital) |
| Milton Keynes HospitalStroke team · NHS · Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Fewer than 7567 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 56.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Milton Keynes Hospital) |
| Queen Alexandra HospitalStroke team · NHS · Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust | 150 to 249202 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 56.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Queen Alexandra Hospital) |
| Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother HospitalStroke team · NHS · East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust | Fewer than 7525 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 35 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | 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 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital) |
| Royal Berkshire HospitalStroke team · NHS · Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249182 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level CScore 66.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Royal Berkshire Hospital) |
| Royal Hampshire County HospitalStroke team · NHS · Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249194 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 51.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Royal Hampshire County Hospital) |
| Royal Surrey County HospitalStroke team · NHS · Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust | Fewer than 7539 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 49.5 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.5 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Outstanding (CQC report for Royal Surrey County Hospital) |
| Royal Sussex County HospitalStroke team · NHS · University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249169 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 50 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Royal Sussex County Hospital) |
| Southampton General HospitalStroke team · NHS · University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust | 250 or more265 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 57.5 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Southampton General Hospital) |
| St Mary's HospitalStroke team · NHS · Isle of Wight NHS Trust | Fewer than 7560 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 44.3 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 7.9 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for St Mary's Hospital) |
| St Peter's HospitalStroke team · NHS · Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249165 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 41.6 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for St Peter's Hospital) |
| St Richard's HospitalStroke team · NHS · University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust | 75 to 149128 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 36.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for St Richard's Hospital) |
| Worthing HospitalStroke team · NHS · University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust | 75 to 149127 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 45.1 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Worthing Hospital) |
| Wycombe HospitalStroke team · NHS · Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust | 150 to 249188 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level CScore 61.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | Somewhat worse than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 7.8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Wycombe Hospital) |
How stroke teams across England, Wales and Northern Ireland were placed in this quarter: A - 0 teams (0.0%); B - 17 teams (7.9%); C - 20 teams (9.3%); D - 117 teams (54.7%); E - 60 teams (28.0%).
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 172 stroke teams in the SSNAP January to March 2026 results in the published table, rounded. So about a quarter of stroke teams in the SSNAP January to March 2026 results 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. Volumes and outcomes here are for each hospital or team, but waiting times and the CQC inpatient survey are for the whole trust.
- 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
- Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) Full Results Portfolio, January to March 2026, SSNAP (King's College London) for HQIP. Source: Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
- 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.
- Stroke (NHS website)
- Treatment for a stroke (NHS website)
- Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme results (data.gov.uk) (SSNAP)
- Adult inpatient survey (Care Quality Commission)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.