PATIENTS have given Bury's health service the thumbs-up.

Bury Primary Care Trust (PCT), the provider of mainstream health care in the community, is one of the best in country for winning the "confidence and trust" of its users.

Around 850 local people were sent a questionnaire on local health services as part of the Commission for Health Improvement's (CHI) comprehensive assessment of the NHS.

The questionnaire assessed patients' experiences of:

access and waiting

safe, high quality, co-ordinated care

better information, more choice

building relationships

health centre environments

Each category was graded as in the best performing 20 per cent of trusts, intermediate 60 per cent of trusts, or in the 20 per cent of worst performing trusts.

Bury PCT was marked best performing in the "building relationships" with health care professionals category. Patients gave health centre staff top marks for listening, answering questions, and setting aside enough time.

Access of and waiting for services fell mainly in the "intermediate" grade, although the trust was in the best performing category when it came to making an appointment with a family doctor.

Bury PCT was graded best performing when it came to providing" safe, high quality, co-ordinated care".

Health centres were, overall, average in the "clean, comfortable, friendly, place to be" category, although they were awarded the best performing mark when in treating patients with "respect and dignity".

The patient choice and information of local health services category fell in to the intermediate category.

Hilda Harvey, chairman of Bury PCT said: "I am delighted that so many people in Bury responded to the National Patient Survey questionnaire, and that they rated the performance and service provided by our doctors, dentists and pharmacists so highly.

"We are keen to involve patients and the public in the planning and provision of our services, and the fact that our health care professionals received very high ratings in the area of building very good relationships with patients, shows that we are well on the way to achieving this goal."

Dr. Peter Elton, Director of Public Health for the PCT said; "Our GPs and staff in primary care can be rightly proud of how local people feel about the services they provide. I am especially delighted that Bury health professionals score so highly on treating patients with respect and dignity. We need to learn from this survey to see if we can do even better next time."

In a similar survey, patients said they were on the whole satisfied with hospital services.

CHI conducted a nationwide user survey on hospital outpatient services and emergency departments.

The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which is responsible for Fairfield General and North Manchester General, fell, in the main, in to the intermediate bracket in each of the categories Bury PCT was judged on.

However, patients expressed concern on appointment waiting times and cancellations in the outpatient department.