PATIENTS in Worcestershire are more satisfied with their hospital care than others elsewhere in the country, new figures show.

The results of a survey showing exactly what patients think of every inpatient and A&E ward in the UK were published for the first time.

The ‘friends and family’ scheme asks patients if they would recommend the ward they were treated in to those close to them – and has been championed by Prime Minister David Cameron as a way to drive up hospital standards.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was one of a handful of trusts already publishing its results as part of a pilot for the scheme.

But the publication of national data for the first time shows how wards at Worcestershire Royal, Redditch’s Alexandra and Kidderminster hospitals are performing against their equivalents. They make positive reading for local patients.

While hospital trusts average a “net promoter” satisfaction score of 63, Worcestershire Acute’s score is 73.

Worcestershire’s A&E departments score 69 – compared with the national average of 54 – and inpatient wards in Worcestershire have a score of 82 against a national average score of 71.

Chief executive Penny Venables said: “Allowing staff, patients and the public to see the results of the test is another huge step towards transparency in the NHS.

“I am thrilled that patients in Worcestershire continue to rate us highly in this test.”

Nationally, 36 of 4,500 wards received an overall negative score in June. None of them are in Worcestershire, where the lowest performing ward is Beech 3 Surgical Short Stay at Worcestershire Royal, which scored 33.3.

Matrons of that ward and six others that scored below the acute trust’s threshold score of 71 have been asked to discuss the results with their staff.

Patients completing the survey are simply asked whether they are likely to recommend the ward where they were treated to friends and family.

They chose from six responses, ranging from extremely likely to extremely unlikely and scores for each ward are created by subtracting the number of negative responses from the number of positive ones.

Worcestershire Acute Trust supports it as a useful tool to increase transparency and flag up any potential problems early on. Rani Virk, lead nurse for patient experience, said: “High quality care and a personal touch make the real difference to your experience in hospital.”