More than half of all patients staying overnight in hospitals in Sandwell and west Birmingham rate their care as excellent, it was revealed today.

Latest figures show that 61.9 per cent of inpatients rated their care as “excellent” and 30.6 per cent considered it “good”. The numbers relate to patients staying overnight in the wards of Sandwell, Rowley Regis and City hospitals.

A total of 5.4 per cent rated their overall treatment as “fair” and 2.1 per cent as “poor”, according to the latest Adult Inpatient Satisfaction Survey.

Respect and dignity on the wards and information provided to patients were flagged up as areas for im-provement.

Compared to the previous survey in May 2009, satisfaction with respect and dignity on the wards fell from 98 per cent to 96 per cent and information provision remained at 74 per cent.

Achievements included the provision of single-sex accommodation rising from 91 per to 93 per cent and cleanliness in the wards rising from 80 to 86 per cent.

A report to Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The trust’s Adult Inpatient Satisfaction Survey was launched in May 2009 to monitor the perceived quality of our services to patients. The surveys are now conducted continuously.”

The latest figures relate to patient satisfaction in October 2009. The questionnaires that form the survey will be modified over the next few months and translated into six languages.

As a result of the survey, a Patient Satisfaction Work-ing Group has been set up.

“This group was set up following feedback received from the previous survey and other sources to look at how we can survey hard-to-reach patient groups, such as those that are vulnerable or have communication difficulties,” the report added.