STANDARDS of patient care at Queen's Park Hospital and Blackburn Royal Infirmary have been praised in a report by a national health watchdog.

The Commission for Health Improvement, an independent body which reviews procedures used at hospitals to improve patient care, found Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare Trust to generally be performing well.

Overall, the report found: "Staff appear to be confident and motivated and senior managers provide a stable and respected leadership. Most patients are happy with how staff treat them at the trust's two hospitals."

It also highlighted a number of areas where the hospital needed to improve and the trust chief executive John Thomas pledged to deal with them. A plan is being made to remedy the shortcomings.

"I am very pleased to receive this encouraging report," he said. "Staff from all wards and departments work extremely hard to ensure high standards of care for patients and this report reflects their commitment and dedication.

"However, we recognise that there is still work to be done and we will be using the recommendations in the report to build upon what has already been achieved."

The trust was particularly praised for its inclusiveness - the way it involved patients, carers and the local community in running its services.

One example, was the trust's apprentice scheme to recruit local people which takes on large numbers from ethnic minorities and half of those who attended went on to attend professional training. Another major strength was its good education and training opportunities.

Areas for concern included the trust's computer network which needed updating and work done on preventing risks to staff and patients.

A spokeswoman for the commission said: "We heard of practices that hold high risk for patients. One example, is when staff sometimes update theatre lists by hand to fit in trauma patients, which may result in illegibility and inaccuracy."

Commission chief executive Peter Homa said: "The trust should be congratulated on its enthusiastic approach towards putting in systems to improve the quality of patient care.

"However, the report has highlighted some areas for improvement which need to be addressed."