Ref. 25330-04A HEALTH check of the Great Western Hospital by the Commission for Health Improvement has placed it in the top 10 per cent of the 47 trusts reviewed by the independent body.

But the report also high-lighted the lack of available beds at the hospital.

In their first review of the trust, CHI inspectors spent a week visiting the hospital in April, and complied a report into seven areas clinical management.

The trust scored six twos and one three out of a maximum of four points scoring well against similarly assessed trusts.

In the report, CHI inspectors highlighted some concerns on the use of trolley beds on the wards.

"While patients are regularly risk assessed before being placed on these beds, most do not have access to curtains, call buzzers or electric sockets," says the report.

The CHI also expressed concerns about the lack of space around the beds for staff to deliver care, particularly if an emergency situation arose.

Chief executive of Swin-don and Marlborough NHS Trust, Lyn Hill-Tout said: "We were able to tell the inspectors that we were aware of the problem and that steps had been taken to alleviate the issue."

Later this year this hospital will open 59 additional beds followed by a new 128-bed diagnostic treatment centre to add to the existing 541 beds.

But Mrs Hill-Tout stressed: "We recognise that the answer to the issue does not just rest on creating more beds.

"We are working closely with social services to try to resolve the issue of patients whose discharge from our acute hospital has been delayed."

Mrs Hill-Tout welcomed the report as an endorse-ment of the work being carried out at the trust.

"We have very much welcomed the visit by the CHI," she said.

"At the outset we decided we would make every effort to help the inspectors and use this as an opportunity to improve services.

"There were no surprises and the inspectors did not raise anything that we were not already aware of.

"Bearing in mind that at the time of the inspection we had only been in the new hospital for five months, we are pleased with the result," she said.

The trust's education and training department was singled out for particular praise by the inspectors, who awarded it three out of four stars.

Mrs Hill-Tout said: "This is an area which we are looking to expand within the hospital.

"Already we provide more than 3,000 different training opportunities and we are hoping to develop a clinical academy where we can run multi-professional courses," the hospital chief said.