Suffolk hospital voted one of the best places to work in UK

Dr Steve Dunn, chief executive of West Suffolk Hospital Picture: TOM SOPER PHOTOGRAPHY (Image: Tom Soper)

Staff at the trust have rated their hospital and community services as one of the best places to receive treatment and best places to work.

In the most recent NHS Staff Friends and Family Test (FFT), 92% of those surveyed said they would recommend the trust as a place to receive treatment, the seventh highest percentage recorded in England.

In addition, 79% said they would recommend it as a place to work, the tenth highest percentage recorded in England.

These are both well above the national averages of 81% and 66% respectively.

Chief executive Steve Dunn said: "We encourage our staff to let us know how well we're doing on the ground, so to have their backing that they are happy to recommend the Trust they work in for both care and as a place to work is fantastic.

"There's no greater testament to a health organisation than to be entrusted with the care of staff themselves and their loved ones, as they are often part of the local community. My own family use our services, and I'm in agreement with my colleagues - it's a great place to receive care.

"Carried out between January to March, this was one of the busiest times our Trust has ever experienced. Maintaining such high scores in what was a challenging quarter is a real achievement. As always, I thank our staff for their continued dedication to our patients."

The NHS Staff FFT is a national initiative introduced by NHS England to help improve patient experience.

It is carried out in all NHS trusts providing acute, community, ambulance and mental health services in England, giving staff the opportunity to feed back their views on their organisation.