Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre has been confirmed as a favourite with patients, by scoring top marks in the national Friends and Family Test.

Patients polled at the hospital throughout September gave it a perfect score of 100 per cent for ophthalmology, day ward and inpatient ward.

The outpatient department scored 99.6 per cent and the hospital achieved an overall rating of 99.7 per cent from the 915 patients who completed the Friends and Family questionnaire.

All providers of health care are required to carry out the Friends and Family Test as part of the NHS' commitment to improving the patient experience.

Patients are asked to rate their care based on the likelihood that they would recommend it to their friends and family.

Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre was the first hospital of its kind to be rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission across the five domains of the quality mark.

Connie Stocker, interim hospital director at Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre, said: "My thanks go to our patients for completing the Friends and Family questionnaire, and congratulations go to colleagues who have maintained the highest standards of care.

"Central to our ethos is the patient, and their experiences matter to us. The Friends and Family Test is one of a number of ways in which we collate information about our patient care, information which we use to continually build on the levels of care we provide."