Assessors have rated the food at West Suffolk Hospital as “excellent” and its standards of cleanliness and patient privacy and dignity as “good” for the second year running.

The trust received the scores following a visit by Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) assessors.

During their visit, the team tested the food on its quality and quantity and whether it was hot and served on unchipped and clean crockery, while the environment was rated on its cleanliness, lighting, décor, flooring, bathrooms and patient areas.

Privacy and dignity were checked by making sure patients had access to information, could bathe and wash in private and were examined out of sight of other patients.

Stephen Graves, chief executive of the trust, said: “We are pleased to have once again scored well in the annual PEAT assessment, and would like to congratulate of our staff and thank them for their hard work.

“The quality of food which patients receive while in hospital can have a big impact on their recovery, so we are delighted to have scored top marks in this area once again. The results also show our patients are being treated with dignity and respect in a clean, well-looked after environment.

“We want every patient to have the best possible experience when using West Suffolk Hospital. As such, we value this sort of feedback as it helps highlight areas where we are performing well and those where we could improve still further.”