A HEALTH boss has spoken of his pride after hospitals in Morecambe Bay performed well in a national guide.

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Ian Cumming said he was particularly pleased about figures that showed that the mortality rate at hospitals in Kendal, Barrow and Lancaster was six per cent below the predicted level. That means that six per cent more people have successful outcomes from their treatment than would be expected.

The Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide also placed Morecambe Bay's hospitals above the national average for out-patient and in-patient waiting times, patient satisfaction, trust in doctors, and whether patients were treated with dignity.

Mr Cumming said that waiting times and waiting lists were not as good in Morecambe Bay as he wanted them to be, but the survey put the trust in the top 25 nationally for in-patient treatment, and showed it was still better than many other places. Similarly, the survey placed Morecambe Bay among the top 20 trusts for patient satisfaction.

The survey concluded that staffing levels in the Bay were poor, and it is recognised that there are recruitment problems within Morecambe Bay and across the NHS.

However, Mr Cumming said the survey did not take into account factors such as the number of rehabilitation beds in hospitals in the Bay which were under the care of GPs who did not count on the trust's own staffing levels. Mr Cumming said: "The trust comes out as the best performing trust in Lancashire and Cumbria, and the fourth best in the whole of the North West. This performance reflects the dedication and commitment of our staff to providing high quality clinical care within acceptable timescales."