Spotless Trust scores highly for food and cleanliness

The Trust was assessed by members of the nationwide Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE), across a range of categories, with food on the wards given a 91 percent score.

And, in perhaps the most impressive rating, the Trust also scored 99% for its cleanliness.

Dementia care (85%), patient privacy and well-being (92%) and the condition of the hospital (94%) were all given high scores too.

The yearly evaluation of the hospital also revealed that in many areas, the trust has improved its performance from last year (information available on request), and this year’s high scores also beat the national average in almost every case.

James Rimmer, Chief Executive of Weston Area Health NHS Trust, said: “We’re delighted with these results. Healthy and tasty food, a clean environment and being treated with dignity are as important to patients in the hospital as their clinical care is so it’s great to see the Trust scoring highly in these areas.

“Special thanks go to our incredible housekeeping team. Their efforts to deliver a clean environment are of a particularly high standard and I’m pleased to see their score recognising the team’s hard work.

“Our results show an improvement on last year, with the Trust also rating higher, and in some cases significantly higher, than the national average.

 “Our ratings reflect the journey of improvement we’ve been on as a trust over the past twelve months and are an endorsement of our staff who work tirelessly to make sure patients have a positive experience when they visit our hospital.

“We are committed to providing great services for our patients here in Weston.  It’s a tribute to our staff to get this national recognition for such high standards”.

Maggie Blackmore, Chairman of the Patients’ Council and lead for the PLACE inspection, said: “It comes as no surprise to see the Trust scoring highly across the different domains. 

“Our overall impression was of a hospital who trains its staff to a high standard to enable the best environment for patients and visitors.”

PLACE was introduced in 2013 and sees local people assess patient’s privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness and general building maintenance.

Assessors come prepared with a number of questions which relate to a patient’s experience in hospital, such as whether emergency exits are clearly identified if there are vegetarian options for meals, and how often windows are cleaned in the hospital.