A PATIENT survey has revealed that 19 per cent of patients believe they were not treated with dignity and respect during their stay in hospital in Worcestershire.

The results of the National Inpatient Survey were discussed at a board meeting of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch on Thursday.

The survey by the Healthcare Commission was conducted in July last year and the results have now been published to the trust board which manages Worcestershire's three acute hospitals - Worcestershire Royal in Worcester, the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and Kidderminster Hospital.

The results were slightly better than the average for NHS trusts across the country ,where 21 per cent of patients said they were not always treated with dignity and respect.

The figures for Worcestershire also showed that eight per cent of patients felt their religious beliefs were not always respected by hospital staff. The average was 10 per cent.

Across all three hospitals 36 per cent of patients said they did not get enough help with meals. The average was 37 per cent.

The survey also showed that 11 per cent of patients said they did not get enough privacy. The average was 12 per cent.

Helen Blanchard, director of nursing and miwifery at the trust, said: "There were issues about the thickness of hospital curtains and whether conversations with patients could be heard by people in the vicinity.

"We are compliant with the standards but there are significant areas where we can take action to improve around maintaining and ensuring the dignity of patients. We have a good performance on privacy and dignity."

A Dignity Group has been set up, involving hospital matrons, to spot areas where improvements need to be made.

The trust meets standards for separate sleeping and bathroom areas for men and women.

Matrons conducted their own review in March to see which part of the three acute hospitals did not meet single sex privacy and dignity standards.

Worcestershire Royal was found to be "green" in all areas but the Alexandra failed the test for its day surgery theatres which was found not to "actively support a patient's privacy and dignity".

Six other areas within the Alexandra were flagged up as "amber" during the audit.

An audit conducted by matrons in January and February suggested that privacy and dignity standards are improving - 89 per cent of all three hospitals met privacy and dignity standards in 2007/08 compared to 83 per cent the previous year.