SOUTHAMPTON General Hospital has been praised by government inspectors in the first national ranking table of acute NHS trusts.

All 170 trusts in England were measured for clinical indicators like waiting times and cleanliness under a new star ratings system.

Southampton University Hospitals Trust (SUHT) was awarded two stars, missing out on the top three star rating by a whisker, placing it just outside the top 25.

The tables, which have been published for the first time this year, are set to become a benchmark for the future performance of NHS trusts.

Each hospital was being graded with three, two, one or zero stars.

The trust is performing well overall and just missed a top rating because of its high proportion of nursing vacancies, inspectors said.

It met eight out of nine key performance targets but did not meet the target for last minute cancellation of operations, which the trust says it has already taken steps to deal with.

Chief executive David Moss said: "We are pleased that our hard work is paying off.

"Given our size and complexity, we have made good progress."

The trust is overhauling its nursing structure to ensure it recruits and retains enough skilled nurses, and has already recruited more than 150 nurses from abroad.

It also recently won government funding from the Starter Homes Initiative to help key staff get a foothold on the local property ladder.