LEIGH Infirmary has been awarded two stars out of a possible three, in new government performance ratings.

Leigh NHS Trust has been awarded two star status - meaning the hospital is performing well overall, but some improvements have yet to be made before it attains the best possible rating of three stars.

Under the new ratings system, trusts are rated according to their performance on things such as waiting times and cleanliness.

Shenna Cumisky, chief executive of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust said: "I am delighted that the Trust has achieved a two star status rating which reflects a great deal of hard work by all the staff in the Trust." In the past year major improvements in cleanliness have been made. No patients have been left to wait for more than 12 hours for a bed thanks to new initiatives that have included 40 new intermediate beds and a new A&E consultant.

The spokesperson said: "The hospitals within Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust have moved from a no star to a three star performance rating over the past year.

"Staff and patients have noticed the visual improvements to all public areas and further investment is planned for this year."

The spokesperson added one of the areas the Trust wants to improve is waiting times for urgent appointments for patients who may have cancer. They aim to ensure every patient is seen within two weeks of referral. Currently 90 per cent of patients are seen within this time.

The purpose of the new performance ratings is to give the best hospitals greater freedom from the centre and the worst hospitals extra help.

Managers of persistently under performing hospitals will be given a deadline to improve performance and if they fail, trouble shooting managers from the best hospitals will compete for the franchise to turn performance around.

Health secretary Alan Milburn said: "For the first time hospitals are being ranked on their performance, with more freedom and rewards for the best and more help for the worst."