THE Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust emerges as the clear regional winner after a survey of hospital inpatients published by the Care Quality Commission.

The Tyneside trust, which runs the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Freeman Hospital, also in Newcastle, was rated better than the national average in eight out of 11 categories of performance.

The highest score at the Newcastle trust was a satisfaction rating of 9.3 out of 10 for the emergency and accident and emergency departments.

Elsewhere in the region the Gateshead Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was rated better than average in two out of 11 categories.

The Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust was rated as having one ‘better than average’ rating along with South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust and South Tyneside Healthcare NHS Trust.

Trusts which were rated as the same as the national average in all 11 categories included County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust and the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust.

Nationally 84 per cent of respondents rated their overall experience as an NHS outpatient as seven or higher out of 10, with about one in four rating it as 10 out of 10.