Staff at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet, are celebrating after being nationally recognised for their commitment to patient safety.

The hospital has been awarded NJR Quality Data Provider status, which can only be achieved through the robustness of a hospital's monitoring of the success of its hip, knee, ankle, elbow and shoulder joint replacement operations.

The NJR is a national body designed to increase the effectiveness of joint operations and improve outcome for patients.

Andrew Oakerbee, hospital director at the Care Quality Commission Outstanding rated service, said: "Patient safety is of the utmost importance to us all and we strive to ensure all our patients get the very best results from any treatment they receive.

"We fully support the National Joint Registry's work in facilitating improvement in clinical outcomes as we support all initiatives that help us deliver excellent care to all our patients."

National Joint Registry Medical Director, Mr Tim Wilton, said: "Congratulations to colleagues at Shepton Mallet hospital.

"The Quality Data Provider Award demonstrates the high standards being met towards ensuring compliance with the NJR and is often a reflection of strong departmental efforts to achieve such status.

"Registry data now provides an important source of evidence for regulators, such as the Care Quality Commission, to inform their judgements about services, as well as being a fundamental driver to inform improved quality of care for patients."

Data collected by NJR hospitals, like Shepton Mallet hospital, also supports and enables research and currently more than three million patient records are held, allowing collaboration nationally and internationally to foster greater knowledge and understanding.