NHS staff at Worcestershire acute hospitals treat patients with privacy and dignity but need to listen more, according an inpatient survey.

The survey, published by government watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) yesterday, shows Worcestershire’s hospital trust is about the same as other trusts rather than better or worse. The survey took place at the end of 2009 and responses were received from 456 patients at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and 69,000 across the country.

The trust, which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, scored highly for the privacy of patients in A&E (8.8 out of 10) but 6.3 for patients having to wait for a bed on a ward.

The trust scored only 2.8 out of 10 for choice of admission dates for patients but scored highly (9.2) for not changing admission dates.

The trust scored very highly for the privacy of treatment (9.3) but scored only 5.6 for patients having someone to talk through their worries and fears and 6.1 for the speed of help if the call button was pressed.

The trust scored only 4.6 for patients being warned of danger signs to look out for when they were sent home and 4.5 for receiving letters sent between hospital doctors and their GP. But the trust scored highly (8.6) for letters sent between hospital doctors and family GPs written in a way patients could understand and for being told how to take medicine in a way they understood (8.1).

The trust scored 8.8 for privacy and dignity but only 1.2 for asking patients what they thought of the quality of care they received. The trust was rated highly for cleanliness (8.7) and for availability of handwash gells (9.9).