An amber rating has been awarded to Mid Essex Hospitals NHS Trust -- meaning that it achieved an acceptable level of cleanliness during unannounced spotchecks.

The results were announced by Health Secretary Alan Milburn as he unveiled the first national standards for hospital cleaning.

In September last year, the trust received £100,000 from the Government as part of a national programme to clean up hospitals across the country.

Since then, work has been going on to provide better conditions for patients, visitors and staff.

The improvements include the upgrade of public toilets and redecoration work, including new flooring and wall protection across the sites such as Broomfield Hospital's outpatients department and St John's Hospital in Chelmsford, and St Michael's in Braintree.

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