One in four UK hospital trusts fails to meet basic hygiene standards

NHS trusts in rural areas are among the worst in the country for providing good patient care, a report by the healthcare watchdog suggests.

The performance of health service organisations appears to be improving overall but the medical postcode lottery continues to create regional variations in the quality of services, the Healthcare Commission says.

Large expanses of the South East and West of England, in particular, have services rated as “weak” in an important new report.

The watchdog’s Annual Health Check, published today, also reports that one in four trusts across the country is still failing to meet basic standards of hygiene and infection control.