HEALTH staff have been given a boost through hundreds of thank-you letters and cards which have poured into York District Hospital this year.

Staff at York Health Services NHS Trust received more than 540 messages of thanks and positive feedback in six months - compared with 181 complaints during the same period.

A quarterly report, which summarises patient feedback, will be presented to the trust board next Wednesday.

Penny Goff, assistant director (complaints and user involvement) with the trust, said: "We aim to raise standards, and by asking patients for their comments we have a rich source of information that staff can draw on to improve our patients' care.

"We know that there are still many letters and cards received by staff that are not included in this report and we hope to include more of these in our next report."

Thank-you letters and emails, comment cards and letters to the Evening Press have all been included in the report.

Those who complained were written to by trust staff and asked how services could be improved.

The results of that postal questionnaire, designed to encourage constructive feedback about the trust's complaints procedure, is also included.

Penny said: "We have had a fantastic response, and the results are very promising.

"People feel that it is worthwhile making a complaint because it will help improve the service. We actively encourage people to let staff know what they think about the service they receive.

"We need to understand what we are getting right, as well as where we need to make improvements and changes."

Another survey will be carried out during the next quarter and a report will be made available to the board in early 2003.

Updated: 12:22 Saturday, December 14, 2002