The rating for critical care improved from requires improvement to good, the same for being safe, responsive and well-led. Worcestershire Royal Hospital's good rating for being effective and caring remained unchanged as did its overall rating of requires improvement.

Charlotte Rudge, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: 'When we inspected the critical care service at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, we found a service where leaders and staff were working together well to ensure people received good care and there was a positive culture within the service.'

Rudge said leaders had collaborated with partner organisations to help improve services, citing the examples of the trust's work with a local Aspergers syndrome support group to find out how they could improve this community's experience of critical care and its work with other local partners on developing an autism policy.

The CQC deputy director said staff treated people 'with compassion and kindness' and 'took time to support people and their relatives and to understand what was important to them, ensuring they retained what was special in their lives'.

Staff were also praised for building 'trusting relationships with people and their relatives, giving them help, emotional support and advice when they needed it'.

'Staff should be extremely proud of the care they're providing to people using the service and their families,' Rudge said. 'Other providers of similar services should look at this report to see if there's anything they can learn.'

Dr Sian Bhardwaj, consultant in anaesthesia & intensive care medicine and the clinical director for intensive care medicine at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'The Care Quality Commission's recognition of our critical care service as good reflects the dedication and hard work of our team, who consistently go above and beyond to deliver high-quality, compassionate care to those in need.

'We are immensely proud of this accomplishment, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring the highest standards of care for our patients. 

'As a service, we remain focused on continuing to meet the evolving needs of our patients and enhancing the service that we provide to our community. We extend our thanks to our staff, patients, and partners for their support and contribution to this achievement.'