DORSET County Hospital has been named one of the top hospitals of 2017.

Based on 22 performance indicators, DCH came out as one of the top hospitals, as part of the CHKS Top Hospitals programme.

The CHKS is part of Capita Healthcare Decisions and The Top Hospitals award is one of several awards that are part of the programme.

As well as national awards for patient safety, quality of care and data quality, CHKS celebrates excellence amongst its clients across the UK.

The awards are based on 22 key factors affecting performance including safety, clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care.

These factors are reviewed and updated each year to ensure excellence across the board.

DCH staff got the good news at an awards event held in London earlier this week. More than 200 guests attended including leaders from across the healthcare sector and guest speaker Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Andy Lockwood, managing director of Capita Healthcare Decisions, said: “These awards recognise outstanding performance in those areas which we believe are critical to delivering good patient care.

“We are delighted that Dorset County Hospital is one of our Top Hospitals 2017.”