The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced the first and second wave of health trusts to be regulated under tough new standards.

Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust, now known as NHS Haringey, and Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust were among the first to be registered.

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust was in the second wave.

It means both trusts have met the required quality and safety standards to be awarded the licence.

The Whittington Hospital Trust is yet to be registered, although the CQC will announce a third, and final, wave on April 1 — the cut-off date for all trusts to be registered.

The trusts will be constantly monitored and if standards are not maintained, the independent health watchdog will issue warning notices which, if ignored, will lead to fines, prosecutions, restrictions on activities or, in extreme cases, closure.

Among the 16 standards are treating patients with respect, involving them in decisions about care, keeping clinical areas clean, and ensuring services are safe.

Cynthia Bower, CQC chief executive, said: "It is absolutely the responsibility of trust boards to ensure standards are in place. These are the standards every patient should be able to expect when they receive NHS care and they are now legally enforceable. This is a tough new system and we have stronger enforcement powers than ever before to make sure services improve.

"For a number of trusts, registration will be conditional on them taking immediate action to improve. Others have identified specific areas they say they are addressing. We will be keeping a very close eye on them to make sure they do. Safety is our number one concern here."

Advantages of the new system include being able to identify and tackle problems earlier and more inspections, Ms Bower said.

Trusts will be judged on the outcomes and experiences of patients and not just whether there are systems and processes in place.

Sue Tokley, NHS Haringey community services associate director for quality, said: "We are delighted the services we provide for Haringey residents have been given a clean bill of health by the regulator.

  "This means we provide the necessary high standards of quality and safety that every patient can expect when they receive health care from NHS Haringey.

"However, we are not complacent and are committed to ensuring that we improve our standards for the people we help look after in Haringey."

Community services include district nursing, nutrition & dietetics, adult services and evidence-based talking therapies.