title: [Not Available].
abstract: The health department's engaging PR gimmick in offering a star-rating system for NHS hospitals backfired badly. Dubbed the 'good hospitals guide', the performance league tables cover 23 indicators in 470 hospitals in England and Wales. As if that weren't divisive enough, stars were awarded to the top performers in five key areas linked to the Patient's Charter. The five include percentages of: patients assessed within five minutes of arriving in A&E departments; outpatients seen within half an hour of appointment time; operations not needing an overnight stay; NHS patients being admitted within three months and within 12 months of being put on a waiting list; and patients still waiting within a month of an operation being cancelled for the second time.