Patients at hospitals in Bradford praised doctors for treating them with respect, but criticised waiting room delays in a national study of accident and emergency care.

The Care Quality Commission surveyed 205 people who had attended A&E at Bradford Royal Infirmary between January and March, asking them to rate the department from one to ten on its facilities, waiting times, quality of care and the way they were treated.

Patients who took part in the independent study gave the hospital a score of nine for offering them privacy during their stay and 8.3 for treating them with dignity.

However, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was given a score of 3.7 for telling patients how long they would have to wait in A&E, and 3.2 for considering their family and home situation before they left the department.

The watchdog, which regulates patient care in the UK, said Bradford had performed ‘about the same’ as other trusts across the county.

A Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: “We are delighted that the BRI’s A&E department has scored highly in many areas while acknowledging in a minority of others that there is room for improvement and we are working hard to rectify these.”

Managers at Airedale Hospital, Steeton, said they were “encouraged” by public feedback on the service provided by their A&E in the study, which took the views of 354 patients.

Airedale scored 9.2 for co-ordination between ambulance and A&E staff and the clarity of test result explanations given by staff to patients. A score of 9.5 was recorded for Airedale’s passing on of necessary information about A&E visits to the patients’ GPs.

The hospital received a lower rating for the way it informs patients about how long they must wait to be examined, with a score of 3.3.

Rob Dearden, director of nursing at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are pleased that patients using our accident and emergency department continue to rate us highly for the care they received from our doctors and nurses, particularly in relation to involving them in decisions about their care.

“However, we must never be complacent. One of the areas where we need to make improvements involves communicating better with our patients about how long they may have to wait before being examined. We are considering what actions we can take to improve this important area of patient experience.”

The full report is available to view at cqc.org.uk