Top marks for food, cleanliness, hygiene and disability friendly environment have been awarded to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) in the Patient-Led Assessment of the Care Environment (PLACE) report for 2018.
Compiled from reports by 85 independent inspectors during spring 2018, the Trust’s food rating rose to 84.88%, a significant boost on the previous year’s score of 81.94%. A significant factor in this improvement was ELHT’s new hydration and nutrition strategy, which has improved the nutritional value of food served at each of its five hospitals.
ELHT also achieved high scores for cleanliness and condition, appearance and maintenance, which remain over 90% (94.40% and 91.86% respectively).
“We welcome the 2018 PLACE inspections which gave patients and local people the opportunity to view for themselves our facilities and score them against national standards,” says ELHT Chief Executive, Kevin McGee.
“We are pleased with the results which are proof that our staff are working hard to provide the highest standards possible, although we know there is more work to be done to improve the physical environment of our hospitals for our patients.”
PLACE inspectors also increased the Trust’s ratings for disability domain (88.45%) and dementia friendly domain (85.38%), both of which scored well above the national averages.
“The PLACE results are an excellent indicator of how we continuously improve the hospital environment,” added Kevin McGee. “We thank the independent inspectors for their opinions which will help us to make further improvements to things that really matter to patients, families and carers.”
PLACE assessments take place across the country and patient assessors (local people) go into hospitals to assess how well NHS organisations are meeting the needs of patients, and identify where improvements can be made.