STAFF at Dorset County Hospital ‘should be very proud’ after the results of a patient survey were released, health bosses said.

More than 400 responses were received to a survey sent out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from people who used the Dorchester hospital’s urgent and emergency care services in September 2022.

The poll was part of the national Urgent and Emergency Care Patient Survey by the CQC which documents the experiences of thousands of patients across the country.

And many responded positively to the care received at DCH.

Asked about different aspects of their treatment, patients gave their experience a score out of 10 (10 being higher), which is then compared to other trusts around the country and the hospital given an overall rating for each question.

The ratings are; Much better, better, somewhat better, about the same, somewhat worse, worse or much worse, when compared to others.

DCH received ‘about the same’ or ‘better than expected’ scores for all nine areas.

Emergency Department Matron, Clare Turnbull, said: “The team work extremely hard to provide high quality care and strive to give our patients the best experience they can, in an often very busy, unpredictable and stressful environment.

“The results reflect just how hard everyone works and the team should be very proud of themselves and I want to thank each and every one of them for all their hard work and dedication.”

Low scores – though about the same as other comparable trusts – came in ‘information about waiting times’ (2.7/10) and ‘Updated about waiting times’ (2.7/10).

Overall, patients scored their experience at 7.9/10 – about the same as other trusts.

DCH’s deputy chief executive, Nick Johnson, added: “We are so proud of our team for achieving such good results in this survey, despite the continued unprecedented pressure on our Emergency Department.

“The results are evidence of the huge amount of commitment and hard work from staff and we are incredibly grateful for their unwavering dedication to providing the best possible care for our patients.”

You can view the full survey results for DCH at www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RBD/surveys/30.