EAST Lancashire's hospitals have scored well in an annual survey of cleanliness and food standards.

Rated on a traffic lights colour system, four out of five hospitals scored the highest green rating for cleanliness while only Blackburn Royal Infirmary and Burnley General failed to score top marks for food standards.

The only disappointment for health bosses was Burnley General slipping from 'green' to 'amber' in cleanliness but Queen's Park Hospital improved from last year to be rated 'green' for food.

Director of operations for East Lancashire Hospitals Trust John Dell said: "We are pleased with the continuing high standards achieved in these important areas for patients.

"The trust wishes to thank staff for their support in achieving these high standards.

"The report highlights the excellent standards being achieved on all hospital sites but also indicates some areas for improvement on the Burnley General site, particularly signposting and car parking which come under the survey."

In East Lancashire, Queen's Park Hospital, Pendle Community Hospital and Rossendale Hospital achieved the top green rating.

Under the traffic light system, a green score reflects high standards which almost always meet patient expectations, amber means acceptable standards which have room for improvement and red shows poor standards in need of urgent improvement.