According to a new survey by NHS, Hospitals in England has changed nearly a quarter of all patient appoints at least once during 2011.

About 23 per cent of the patients said they appointments were changed at least once in 2011, compared to 21 per cent in 2009. About a fifth of the patients, who were visiting for a repeat appointment had their appointment time changed at least once while 6 per cent of the patients had to change appointments two or three times. About 12 per cent of those, who were for first appointment, had it changed once and 2 per cent had it changed two or three times.

On the positive side, more than believed that the hospital they visited were clean compared to the results in 2009. In the new poll more people said that they were treated with respect and had a good overall communications with the doctors. Meanwhile, the performance of medical staff has also improved, according to the survey.

On the other hand, 11 per cent of the respondents said that doctors did not explain their test results properly, compared to 9 per cent in the earlier poll.

Cynthia Bower, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission which published the survey, said: "Attending an outpatient clinic can be a stressful and worrying experience for some patients. It is therefore encouraging to see some improvement in basic aspects like being treated with respect and dignity and cleanliness."

The results are based on the survey of 72,000 patients who attended outpatient departments at 163 NHS trusts in England during April or May 2011.