Axminster Hospital where some minor surgical cases are set to be axed.

Healthcare Trust which manages hospitals at Axminster, Seaton and Honiton commended for its work

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The organisation which manages hospitals in Axminster, Honiton and Seaton has been rated among the best in the country by patients.

The Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust has been ranked 11th out of 146 trusts with a score of 7.28 in a report called the Quality Index.

It is the first ever overall assessment of NHS hospital quality in England, and ranked trusts on 10 different indicators based on what patients said was most important to them.

The report was published by MHP Health Mandate, an award-winning specialist health policy and communications consultancy.

It found that of the 10 indicators, patient experience and waiting times matter most to the public. In a poll of the British public conducted by ComRes, nearly one quarter (23 per cent) of respondents said the factor they considered to be most important when deciding which hospital to choose for an operation was the number of patients who said they had a good experience of care at the hospital.

One fifth of respondents placed greatest importance on how long they would have to wait for an operation.

The 10 factors on which trusts were judged and which were considered to have an impact on a person’s choice of services were:

* Risk of getting an infection from the hospital.

*The rate of recent (written) patient complaints about the hospital.

* The chance of an operation being cancelled at short notice.

* The number of patients who said they got better after being treated in hospital.

* The number of patients who said they had a good experience of care.

* Whether patients would have to share a sleeping area or bathroom with someone of the opposite sex.

* How long they would have to wait for an operation.

* The risk they would be harmed during treatment.

* If they were involved in decisions about their care.

* The number of staff at the hospital who would recommend it to family and friends.

The report also makes 14 recommendations on how the quality ratings should be developed and used to improve the quality of care delivered by hospitals in the NHS.

Jac Kelly, chief executive of the trust, said: “We are delighted that the excellent standard and quality of care that our Trust provides corresponds directly to what is most important to patients. Our staff are incredibly dedicated and the fact that their hard work has been recognised nationally is testament to their ongoing commitment and expertise.

“I am very proud of our success and am looking forward to building upon it throughout the coming year.”