PATIENTS’ satisfaction levels with hospitals in Worcestershire remain higher than those elsewhere in the country, latest figures have revealed.

Under a new Government-led initiative, results of a survey showing exactly what patients think of every inpatient and A&E ward up-and-down the country are now being published.

The “friends and family” scheme, which has been championed by Prime Minister David Cameron as a way to drive up hospital standards, used feedback from patients to give wards a “net promoter score”.

Possible results range from -100 to 100 and anything positive is regarded as an acceptable score.

Scores for July have just been published and suggest patients in Worcester are much happier with their care than in other areas.

While hospital trusts nationally averaged a satisfaction score of 64, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust’s figure is 73.6. Worcestershire’s inpatient wards scored 80.9 against the national average of 71 and A&E departments in Worcestershire have a score of 67.3, compared to a national average score of 54.

Patients completing the survey are asked whether they would be likely to recommend the ward where they were treated to friends and family. They choose from six responses, ranging from extremely likely to extremely unlikely.

Closer to home, bosses at Worcestershire Acute say individual data for each ward can be a valuable “early warning system” for any issues that need to be addressed.

Each month matrons of all wards that score under 71 are asked to discuss the results with their staff and identify any reasons for the less positive response.

In July the trust’s lowest scoring ward was the Acute Medical Unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, which scored 50. Six other wards also had results below the trust’s threshold score of 71. They are Avon 2, the surgical clinical decisions unit; Beech 3 surgical short stay at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Ward 18 elective short stay and Ward 12 medical and respiratory at Redditch Alexandra Hospital, and Wyre Forest Community Unit at Kidderminster Hospital.

One ward, Lavender Gynaecology at Worcestershire Royal, has been flagged up “red” by the trust’s own colour-coded warning system. Although the ward had a net promoter score of 100 it failed to achieve its required patient sample size and reported one fall, two complaints and a sickness rate of six per cent.

Celina Eves, the acute trust’s interim head of nursing, said the ward had been “in transition” before the appointment of new senior staff.

These have now been appointed and she will meet them to discuss the results and improve performance.