A specialist heart hospital in Liverpool has been told to improve its monitoring of patient's conditions, according to a report.

The Cardiothoracic Centre must also standardise the way staff report incidents when things have gone wrong, said the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI).

However, the CHI describes the centre, which treated Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier after his heart attack, as delivering "high quality care".

On Friday, the centre, run by Liverpool NHS Trust, said the levels of care given by staff has meant patients hold them in "high regard".

The involvement of medical staff in assessing potential risk is limited CHI report

The report states however, that the centre's "clinical governance" - a system to ensure levels of care are continually improving - is inconsistent.

It states: "The trust's systems to understand, monitor and minimise risks to patients and staff need improving, with staff using differing forms to report things that have or could go wrong.

"The involvement of medical staff in assessing potential risk is limited."

CHI chief executive Peter Homa acknowledged that the centre is already planning to expand its services to meet the recommendations.

"The trust must now focus on furthering developing the systems to ensure the quality of care continually improves," he said.

In a statement the hospital added: "The report [also] recognised that the hospital provides a high level of privacy and dignity for its patients in a clean environment."