Hospitals have corrected shortcomings noted by health watchdogs earlier this year.

Both Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI) and the Calderdale Royal Hospital (CRH) have been given pass marks in a series of tests.

But both hospitals have now been told their premises are not up to scratch.

The two hospitals were put on notice last spring after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said bedside and clinical record keeping standards were “unacceptable”.

Hospital chiefs acknowledged “standards had slipped” and vowed to improve before the watchdog’s follow-up visit.

The CQC made its surprise visits in August and the reports have now been published.

They reveal HRI and CRH have been given a clean bill of health over record keeping, but have now both been warned about the safety and suitability of some parts of their buildings.

Both hospitals passed the other five CQC tests, which are chiefly to do with healthcare standards.

Chief executive of Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust (CHFT) Owen Williams said: “We are entering a new era of tough, hospital regulation and are well aware of the standards we must be reaching for our patients.

“The CQC’s findings this time, particularly the nice comments they received from our patients, will mean so much to all our staff.

“We aim to build on these strengths highlighted and will continue to make improvements whenever and wherever they are needed.”

Although the hospitals have been well-rated, CQC inspectors have demanded action on a number of minor safety issues:

CRH was rapped for a lack of specialist cleaning facilities in its endoscopy unit which “increased the risk of cross infection”.

Staff at CRH admitted ventilation had failed one day while an orthopaedic theatre was in use.

It had later emerged workers had been doing routine maintenance without informing them.

The CQC discovered there was no engineer responsible for ventilation and there was no senior manager with Chartered Engineer status across the two sites.

CHFT has plans to appoint one.

At HRI taps on wash basins at a recently revamped ward were “not set at the correct angle”, making them difficult to operate with elbows, increasing the risk of contamination.

The Lindley hospital had no hearing loop or braille facilities in its reception area during its refurbishment. Both will be installed when it is completed.

The hospitals were praised for a response to a medical emergency, witnessed by inspectors during the spot checks.

In all, the CQC looked into the care and records of 18 patients and spoke to 45 patients, 16 relatives and 45 members of staff at HRI.

The CQC, said: “Overall we found that people were receiving the care they needed in the areas of the hospital we visited.

“The majority of people who used the service provided us with positive feedback on their care and treatment.”

Inspectors found staff were polite and respectful and responded positively to family members enquiring about their relatives care and treatment.

They noted that more than 700 members of staff have been trained up as fire wardens to ensure safety requirements following recommendations from West Yorkshire Fire service.

The inspectors also found the trust’s handling of complaints up to standard and that the way care records were filled in was much improved, accurate and up-to-date.