THE trust which runs Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge hospitals has been rated '8.2 out of 10 for patient experience' in a recent survey.

Conducted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) it looked at the hospital inpatient stay experiences of 76,915 patients in England.

Overall, the CQC found people were most positive about being treated with dignity and respect whilst in hospital. In this area, patients gave WUTH a score of 9 out of 10. It was answered by those 16 and upwards, who were all discharged during July last year.

In its report, the scores are banded into three categories, 'Better' and 'Worse' and ‘About the same’ when compared to the previous survey results.

WUTH showed significant improvement in two areas, when compared to 2018. The first related to the length of time on the waiting list before admission to hospital.

The second question that was given an appreciably higher score than the previous year, asked if patients got enough help from staff to eat their meals.

Nearly 9 out of 10 patients said yes, which put WUTH in the ‘better' category rating. In all other questions, the WUTH score was in the ‘about the same’ category.

Dr Nikki Stevenson, medical director and deputy chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital said: "While our overall score shows a slight improvement, and it is reassuring to see that WUTH's performance is comparable to other Trusts, we will be looking in detail at the findings to identify those areas where we can make further progress. We are committed to continuous improvement in all aspects of patient care.

"The COVID – 19 pandemic has resulted in necessary changes to our processes, but our staff have adapted and met the challenges in providing care for their patients.

"We are now planning to resume a fuller range of activities, although many of our services like maternity, emergency and cancer care have carried on throughout the pandemic.

"At this time, we must continue to restrict access to our hospitals, especially for visitors, in order to reduce the risk of infection.

"This decision is reviewed regularly.

"We are grateful to everyone for their understanding and for helping us to maintain the safety of our patients, staff and their families."