Patients say Nottingham’s hospital have improved facilities for dementia and disability care
Patients have described improvements in a range of areas - from cleaning standards to facilities available for dementia patients – based on a report published today.
The Patient Led Assessments of Care Environments (PLACE) assessments, carried out by NHS Digital, look at the experience of patients using the non-clinical aspects of the patient environment of NHS hospital facilities.
Between March and June 2018, patients and hospital staff shared their views on standards of cleanliness, food and hydration, privacy and dignity, and whether the premises are equipped to meet the needs of people with dementia or with a disability, which many positive results for NUH.
PLACE assessments were undertaken in 1,198 NHS Trusts across England. At NUH, 23 patient assessors completed the assessment over a 5 day period.
The results show that NUH has improved across most areas in comparison with 2017 results, achieving an average score overall of 85%.
For dementia care and disability care NUH scored an average score of 73% which is an improvement of almost 5% compared with last year’s results.
Patients scored food services at NUH 92% (versus 88% in 2017) and for the condition, appearance and maintenance of facilities people scored the hospital 91% (an increase of 1% compared to 2017).
However, the assessment shows there are areas for improvement; including hospital facilities’ role in improving patient privacy, dignity and wellbeing facilities and cleanliness.
David Preece, Head of Facilities at NUH, said: “We are pleased that the results show we are providing a positive experience for people using non-clinical facilities at Nottingham’s Hospitals and overall patients and public have rated us above 80% in all categories.
“However, the results equally show there is more for us to do and we are aware of the areas we need to give greater focus to improve the overall experience for our patients. The annual PLACE assessment results are an important measure of the non-clinical experience of patients, from the public who will experience our services and from staff who work in these environments. We appreciate the feedback and involvement from our patients that enables us to continuously improve our facilities and services.”
The full results of the survey can be viewed here