Children's care at West Hertfordshire hospitals has improved according to a survey by an independent health services regulator.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its first national Children’s and Young People’s Survey.

The results for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust included responses from 113 children, or if under seven from their parent or carer, who used the services either as an inpatient or as a day case between July and September 2014.

The trust said the results showed an improvement on a survey carried out in 2012, particularly in quality of the ward environment, communication with parents and carers and information given to children and their families about their operation or procedure.

The trust scored 8.5 out of 10 for children saying their patient experience was good, and 8.8 out of 10 for patients and carers saying their patient experience was good.

West Herts scored better than most other trusts in two areas, the rest being about the same as other providers.

Professor Tracey Carter, chief nurse, said: “We are currently looking into the results in detail to see how we can make further improvements, but I think these results are very encouraging and help us focus on what needs to be done in the future to improve the experience of children and young people using our services.”