A NEW guide to hospitals across the UK has given facilities in Gwent a clean bill of health.

The Doctor Foster Good Hospital Guide - the first users' guide to the NHS - was published yesterday. And it notes that waiting- times are below average in The Royal Gwent, Caerphilly Miners and Nevill Hall hospitals.

The book gives information on various aspects of healthcare in individual hospitals across the UK.

Tim Kelsey, chief executive of Dr Foster - which is named after the nursery rhyme character who nearly drowned on a trip to Gloucester - said the book was an attempt to give people more information about the choices they have.

"It's important people have information about the relative qualities of their local hospital in terms of standards and clinical conditions.

"There are choices we can make, such as whether to go private or whether to seek a second opinion.

"It can also help GPs, who have the right in some circumstances to refer patients outside their local area.

"Doctor Foster is designed to reassure them that their local hospital meets certain key standards."

Among the categories highlighted in the book are: staffing levels, waiting-times, cancelled operations and complaints.

It also shows what facilities are available at each hospital. Gwent's hospitals have fewer than average complaints and shorter than average waiting-times both for inpatient and outpatient waiting.

The only black mark against the hospitals run by the Gwent Healthcare Trust comes on the figure for nurses, where the numbers are slightly below the national average. Mr Kelsey said that devolution meant there were differences between the NHS in Wales and in England.

"Devolution has wrought changes that mean the focus is different in Wales. It's clear there has been quite a strong commitment from the Welsh executive and authorities to focus on quality of care and trying to reduce variation between hospitals." The Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide is published by Vermillion, priced £14.99.