THE trust which runs Basingstoke hospital improved the quality of its food, according to the results of a new report.

As reported in August last year, Basingstoke hospital was rated amongst the worst in the country for the quality of its patient food in a report produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

The report was compiled after assessments were carried out by patient-led assessors of the care environment and was produced with input from patients, governors and other representatives of the public.

It rates trusts on four categories; cleanliness; food; privacy, dignity and wellbeing; and condition, appearance and maintenance.

Basingstoke hospital received a score of 98.04 per cent (97.30 per cent last year) for its cleanliness and 90.52 per cent (89.35 per cent last year) for condition appearance and maintenance.

The hospital also received a rating of 87.54 per cent for its food (82.40 per cent last year) and an 82.78 per cent rating for privacy, dignity and wellbeing (83.06 per cent last year).

This year, a rating of how well healthcare providers’ premises are equipped to meet the needs of patients with dementia was included, with Basingstoke hospital scoring 65.05 per cent compared to a national average score of 74.51 per cent.

The hospital also fell below the national averages for its food (88.93 per cent), and privacy, dignity and wellbeing (86.03 per cent).

Mary Edwards, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which runs Basingstoke hospital, said: “We are constantly working to improve our standards and we value this feedback from these assessors who are members of the public.

“We take great pride in the cleanliness of our hospitals and we have done a lot of work on improving the food being served to patients, so we’re especially delighted to be scoring highly on these measures.

“The clinical environment is important to our patients’ recovery, and whilst we are all extremely pleased to be performing so well, we are not complacent and will be looking to improve even further in a number of areas to provide the best possible care environment.”

Full results of the inspection, which took place between February and June, can be viewed at hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB18042.