No hospitals and health trusts in Sussex had the ignominy this year of not receiving any stars in the ratings system of the NHS.

But only two out of 20 managed the maximum three stars and most received just one, which means they could do better.

That would probably be the public's verdict on much of the NHS in the county. There is plenty of excellent care and treatment but waits are still unacceptably long for some forms of treatment.

The stars system has been much maligned and it has faults but it does give a broad indication about what's going right or wrong.

Then the idea is to look hard at defects and see if they can be remedied in the years ahead.

That's not always easy in an organisation like the NHS where money is short and the pressure from patients is high. But it can and must be done.