The patient environment at North Bristol NHS Trust has received good ratings, according to results of annual patient-led assessments published yesterday (August, 15) by NHS Digital.
Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) involve teams of health care staff and members of the public going into NHS and private/independent hospitals to assess how the environment supports the provision of clinical care.
We have exceeded the national average in a number of the areas assessed, including patient food on wards, privacy, dignity and wellbeing, and meeting the needs of patients with dementia and disabilities.
Earlier this year our Brunel building at Southmead Hospital was named the best designed large hospital internationally at the European Healthcare Design Awards, highlighting privacy and dignity as a key feature. Inpatient and outpatient areas are kept separate and a clinical corridor is used so that patients are not transported through the main public thoroughfare.
We have also made a number of our public toilets at Southmead Hospital more accessible for patients and visitors with dementia. New dementia-friendly signage has been installed in a number of our wards, the Endoscopy department and the Acute Medical Unit. Over the coming weeks, we will also install dementia-friendly signs in public toilets in the Emergency Department at Southmead Hospital.
We have made significant improvements from last year on the cleanliness of our premises, increasing our score to over 95%.
Director of Facilities, Simon Wood said: “We are delighted to see that we have made a number of significant improvements in NHS Digital’s patient-led assessments of our hospital premises.
“We will continue to work on improving the hospital environment and our patient’s experience and welcome feedback from patients during their stay at our hospital.”