PATIENTS visiting hospitals in Worcestershire are happy with how they are treated during their stay but feel they should have more opportunities to make their voices heard or complain, a survey has revealed.

The results of a survey of inpatients visiting the three hospitals run by the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust – Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital, Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and Kidderminster Hospital – between September 2012 and January 2013 were published this week.

The survey, carried out by Picker Institute Europe, asked patients staying overnight at one of the three hospitals a range of questions about their care and treatment and found the trust ranked at about the same level as similar organisations elsewhere in the country, with 70 per cent of questions scoring seven out of 10 or better.

Almost 100 per cent of respondents said they were happy with the availability of hand gels to patients and visitors and 92 per cent said they were pleased with the amount of information they were given on the risks and benefits of an operation.

The way in which information on patients’ conditions was passed between different specialists dealing with them also scored highly at 91 per cent positive and 90 per cent said they felt they were treated with respect and dignity.

But only 22 per cent of patients were happy with how they were asked for their views during their stay while 74 per cent said there was not enough information available on how to complain.

The trust has pledged to work to increase patient satisfaction in these areas and chief nursing officer Lindsey Webb said she was grateful to patients who took time to respond to the survey.

“These results will now be looked at in more detail and alongside our other patient feedback to identify any trends,” she said.

“Improvement plans will then be put in place where necessary.

“It is particularly good to see a number of areas which have improved since last year’s results including hospital food, the amount of information given to patients about their condition or treatment and patients finding a member of staff to talk to about any worries or fears.

“This is testament to all our staff who work hard to ensure we deliver quality, safe care to our patients.”

The survey was given to 850 patients and responses were received from 438.

To see the full survey results, visit www.cqc.org.uk/survey/inpatient/RWP