HINCHINGBROOKE Hospital s staff may not be universally satisfied with their employers, but the public has ranked it one of the best acute hospitals in the country. Last month, although they rated it among the best 20 per cent acute trusts in the country,

HINCHINGBROOKE Hospital's staff may not be universally satisfied with their employers, but the public has ranked it one of the best acute hospitals in the country.

Last month, although they rated it among the best 20 per cent acute trusts in the country, staff had mixed views on aspects of their work.

Patients, however, are in no doubt. They ranked it fourth in the country for patient satisfaction, although it fell to fifth on a weighted score, which promoted the hospital ranked 35th (Bromley, Kent) to first.

And in a separate annual assessment of all hospitals in the country by health consultants CHKS both Hinchingbrooke and Papworth Hospitals were included un the unranked top 40.

The Frontiers of Performance in the NHS report from researchers Ipsos MORI analysed the 2006 national patient survey data from the Healthcare Commission. It then compared them to analysis of the local population, looking for how the make-up of the community could reflect in the results. For example, communities with high deprivation and a young population tend to give lower satisfaction ratings than populations made up of older people.

However, it was found that patient ratings in hospitals are mainly governed by three aspects of care - being treated with dignity and respect, being involved in decisions and being in a clean room or ward.

Hinchingbrooke was particularly highlighted in the report as receiving high patient satisfaction on pain control.

The CHKS survey was based on a number of figures such as length of stay, rate of emergency readmissions, data quality and waiting times.

Mark Millar, Hinchingbrooke chief executive, said: "Being named in the Top 40 Hospitals and being highlighted in the Ipsos MORI study are fantastic pieces of news for the trust.

"I would like to congratulate our staff on helping to achieve such high scores. It is their excellent work that enables our patients to give such glowing reports.

"However, this does not mean we should get complacent. We need to continue the hard work to ensure we appear in the Top 40 again next year and the Frontiers of Performance study highlights the areas that cause concern to patients, and we should endeavour to ensure that we continue to meet their needs."

On the difference between patient perception and staff feedback, he added: "It is typical that we expect greater standards of ourselves, and staff are aware of the frustrations and difficulties in delivering care to the high standard they would want to.

"They should be immensely proud that their efforts are appreciated, and they deserve our collective thanks.