PATIENTS receiving care in hospitals in Northumberland and North Tyneside have rated it the best in the region, according to a national survey.

Results for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which operates hospitals in Hexham and Haltwhistle, from the Care Quality Commission’s Adult Inpatient Survey 2019 were the highest in the North-East and among the best in the country.

The trust scored statistically better than others in five of the 12 areas - the hospital and ward, care and treatment, operations and procedures, leaving hospital and respect and dignity - and, overall, 85 per cent of patients said they had a very good experience.

The survey showed that 94 per cent of patients said they were treated with respect and dignity, with more than 90 per cent saying they had confidence and trust in the wider clinical team treating them, and staff caring for them worked well as a team.

Northumbria also scored highly when patients were discharged from hospital with patients not experiencing delays and being given the support they need to help them manage at home.

93 per cent said the questions they had before they had an operation or procedure were answered in a way they understood.

The results follow staff at Northumbria Healthcare rating the organisation the best acute and community trust and best acute hospital trust in the country, further demonstrating the correlation between positive staff experience and good patient experience.

Sir James Mackey, chief executive at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I am delighted that our patients have rated their care with us as the best in the region and among the highest in the country.

"Staying overnight in hospital is a worrying time for many patients and our staff are committed to doing all we can to make that experience, including when it is time to go home, as positive as possible.

"To receive these excellent results is testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, who continually go the extra mile to not only deliver the highest quality of care for their patients, but also to provide the emotional support which is so important.

"It is also encouraging that our results have improved from last year, which demonstrates our ethos here at Northumbria of always striving to be even better. We will not stop there."

The survey involved 143 NHS acute trusts in England and captured the views of almost 77,000 adults who had stayed in hospital for at least one night during July last year said about the care they received.