PATIENTS have had their say on Mid Cheshire’s hospitals.

The Care Quality Commission has released the results of the 2022 adult inpatient survey.

This survey looks at the experiences of 63,224 people across 133 NHS trusts who stayed at least one night in hospital as an inpatient in November 2022.

Trusts were then placed in one of five categories based on how their performance compares to survey results across all the trusts in England.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which received 451 responses, ended up being classed as performing “about the same” as most other trusts that took part in the survey.

Scott Malton, chief nursing officer at Mid Cheshire Hospitals, said: “I’d like to thank our patients who took the time to share their thoughts and experiences through this adult inpatient survey.

“We are delighted to see that across Cheshire and Merseyside we have one of the highest scores, showing how positively our patients feel about their inpatient experiences at Mid Cheshire Hospitals Trust.”

The survey looks at 11 key areas including doctors, nurses, care and treatment, and long term condition.

Mid Cheshire was classed as being “about the same” in all but one of these categories – feedback on care.

For this, the trust was said to be performing “somewhat worse than expected”, with a score of just 0.7 out of ten.

Mr Malton added: “Patient feedback is incredibly important to us and helps us shape our services for the future.”

Nationwide, 81 per cent of patients said they always had confidence and trust in the doctors treating them, with 82 per cent saying they were always treated with dignity and respect.

However, 52 per cent felt there were always enough nurses on duty, down from 62 per cent in 2020.

An NHS England spokesperson said: “While the vast majority of patients responding to this survey reported a positive overall experience and a high level of trust in doctors and nurses, the results also reflect the ongoing pressures the NHS is under – during November 2022, when respondents were surveyed, the NHS was treating an average of 5,000 Covid-positive patients in hospital a day and more than 13,500 beds were occupied by patients medically fit to leave each day.

“Despite ongoing pressures and the impact of industrial action, there have been significant improvements since the end of last year – with staff treating more than 1.5 million patients last month and the longest waits now down more than half since their peak – and staff are continuing to ensure those on waiting lists receive support, including any pain relief and mental health advice.”