Cleanliness in the only accident and emergency department under Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust’s control is “worse than expected”, a health watchdog has found.

Nearly 40,000 people took part in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) A&E survey 2014, which looked at 142 trusts across the country.

Key findings from the report revealed that Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust was lumped with 11 other institutions deemed to be “worse than expected” in regards to A&E cleanliness.

Stoke Mandeville Hospital is the only A&E department under the trust’s control, although some Buckinghamshire patients are transported for treatment at facilities in neighbouring counties.

Other trusts that were sub standard in this area included Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and the North West London Hospitals Trust.

While the national survey showed that nearly 80 per cent of those who responded rated their experience as good, giving it seven or more out of ten, Buckinghamshire’s trust was below par.

However, Carolyn Morrice, chief nurse for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said staff were dedicated to keeping clean wards and that new plans have been put in place to improve the hospital’s environment since the summer.

She said: “We are committed to ensuring that the environment within our A&E and all wards within our hospitals are maintained to our high standards of cleanliness at all times.

“Part of our investment continues to be in modernising our environment and introducing new initiatives such as care rounding, which started in July 2014.

“This means that a senior nurse regularly checks to ensure that all of the patients are safe and well informed, and that the environment is clean and clutter free.”

Commenting on the findings, Professor Sir Mike Richards, the CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, said: “Overall the results of this survey are encouraging, with better results in 2014 than in 2012 despite the known increase in pressures on A&E departments.

“However, we do see significant variations between trusts.

“This highlights the need for all trusts to review their own results and to take action where necessary.

“The findings are set out in the report according to the same key questions as we use for our inspections. This will assist us in making judgments about the quality of individual A&E services.”

Twelve trusts achieved “better than expected” results for seven or more – 20 per cent – of the 35 questions in the survey.

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust achieved the highest number of “better than expected” results for this year’s survey.

CQC inspectors said they expect all trusts to use the watchdog’s findings and “make the improvements they need in order to drive a better experience for every patient”.