Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre continues to be a hit with patients, as they give the hospital top marks in the national Friends and Family Test.

Patients who completed the survey at the hospital throughout October gave it a perfect score of 100 per cent for ophthalmology, day ward, endoscopy and inpatient ward. Both the day ward and endoscopy have scored 100 per cent in 11 months out of the past 12.

The outpatient department scored 99.3 per cent and the hospital achieved an overall rating of 99.7 per cent from the 984 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: "The information we receive from the Friends and Family Test is vital to our ongoing commitment to providing the highest standards of care, so my thanks go to those of our patients who took the time to complete the survey."