Robin Walker, Worcester’s MP said he was encouraged to see that Worcestershire’s hospitals are improving after a recent inspection.

Although the report by the Quality Care Commission of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust after an inspection in November still found the hospitals it runs, Worcestershire Royal and the Alexandra in Redditch, ‘inadequate’, it also found areas where things were getting better.

Urgent and emergency care services at the hospitals were now changed to a 'requires improvement' rating on whether they are safe, while medical care at the Alex was improved from 'inadequate' to the 'requires improvement' rating.

The rating for whether urgent and emergency services are effective at Worcestershire Royal Hospital also improved to 'good', from a 'requires improvement' rating.

Mr Walker said: “I was glad to read the CQC report’s findings that show improvement in a number of areas across the Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust sites. Perhaps most important of all is the fact that safety has improved in all the areas inspected at both Worcestershire Royal and the Alex, and that the effectiveness of urgent and emergency care at the Royal has also been assessed as improving.”

“Of course, there is still a long way to go to improve performance in all areas but today’s report does show that the changes implemented by the new management team are beginning to have a noticeable effect, with staff and patients reporting improvements in leadership and performance monitoring. It has been notable that the quality of care has always been highly rated and I would like to thank staff at the trust for their hard work and dedication.”

“I am as impatient as anyone for better results to be delivered and want to see an overall good or outstanding inspection result as soon as possible. However, I do believe that a corner has been turned and I will continue to work with the trust, government and local residents to push for the highest quality acute hospital services that my constituents rightly expect.”

“I will continue to do all I can to support the trust management team alongside the county’s other MPs, with the main priority ahead being ensuring the efficient and targeted delivery of the record £29million capital funding announced by the Health Secretary last summer.”

The chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, Michelle McKay said the trust wanted improvement "as fast as possible" as the hospitals remain in special measures following a. initial report in December 2015