Future Hospitals Director Stuart Windsor, reported on the recent findings of the Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment, otherwise known as PLACE.
PLACE is the national system for assessing the quality of the patient environment and is carried out by patient representatives. They look at eight domains:
- Cleanliness
- Food
- Organisation food
- Ward food
- Privacy, dignity and wellbeing
- Condition, appearance and maintenance
- Dementia
- Disability
This assessment is fundamental in understanding the experience patients have of our environment – the assessors tell us how the hospitals look and feel from the eyes of the patient, experiencing mealtimes from the bedside for example.
The most recent round of assessment took place on 4 December 2023 and 15 December 2023, with the results published at the end of February. 190 trusts were part of the national assessment and we are pleased to report UHP scored above the national average in 7 of the 8 assessed domains – a significant improvement on the previous assessment which was carried out in 2022.
Read about the PLACE assessments results
Headlines from PLACE 2023
- The graph below shows the published scores from the recent inspections between September and December 2023 and includes the national average for each domain (dotted line).
- Derriford Hospital scored above the national average in 7 of the 8 domains with only ‘Privacy, Dignity and Wellbeing’ scoring 0.8% below the national average.
- Scores at our Community Hospitals were, in general, higher than those at Derriford. Only Tavistock scored below the national average in ‘Privacy, Dignity and Wellbeing’ by 3.28%
(How our facilities scored in 2023 PLACE Assessments: includes Derriford Hospital, South Hams Hospital, Tavistock and Mount Gould)
Whilst we are pleased to be above national average, Stuart reiterated the intention to keep going in the improvement we have seen to date. This includes a renewed focus on meal service, not just on the food but also the patient experience of the service as a whole. During stays in hospital, mealtimes can often be the highlight of the day.
Stuart closed the update on PLACE by emphasising a big thank you to all the patient representatives who took part in the assessments, as well as the UHP staff involved in facilitating the visits – “their wisdom and time are so valued.”
Also in this issue
- A focus on Urgent and Emergency Care
- College students experience live construction site at UHP
- End of Life pathway enabling patients to have a dignified death
- New South West Peninsula Children’s Surgical Unit at UHP
- UHP uses world’s smallest artificial heart pump to provide life-saving treatment
- Join us at our Annual General Meeting