HOSPITALS are getting cleaner and patients are being offered better food, the Government said yesterday.

The Department of Health published the first results from NHS food inspections and the latest ratings from the national hospital clean-up campaign.

They show that 60 per cent of hospitals in England are classed as having good standards of cleanliness.

Under the traffic-light style of the ratings, this means they are classed as green.

The remaining 40 per cent were rated yellow, which means they achieved an acceptable standard and none were classed as poor, or red.

This is an improvement on three years ago when 35 per cent were considered to have poor levels of cleanliness.

Eight hospitals in the North-East and North Yorkshire achieved a green rating. These include Darlington Memorial, Horn Hall, Harrogate District, Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Sunderland Royal Infirmary, the Freeman, Walkergate, and South Tyneside District hospitals. The rest were given amber gradings.

Results from food inspections released showed that one in six hospitals offered meals of a good quality.

Eighty one per cent have an acceptable standard of catering, while at two per cent of hospitals the food was considered poor.

Health Minister Lord Hunt said: "The £60m clean up campaign is working, but we are not complacent about the continuing need to drive forward these reforms."

He said the department was working with hospitals where food was rated as poor and all had action plans in place to sort out problems.

"Ongoing support is being provided and we do not expect any red hospitals to remain by the end of the year," he said.