Patient-led Assessment

Every NHS patient should be cared for with compassion and dignity in a clean, safe environment. Patient-led assessments of the care environment (PLACE) have been set up to support this, so that patients can provide direct feedback on the quality of the patient environment. This helps managers understand where standards have fallen short and what they can do to improve them.

I currently work in central analytical services in the Patient and Information directorate and analyse the PLACE results. I have created a tool that helps the public view PLACE results and see which organisations are excellent and which areas need to be improved. As I work with the data I wanted to find out how the PLACE scores were allocated and gain first-hand knowledge of how patients experience front line services, so I decided to volunteer to take part in the 2014 inspections.

Fortunately someone I work with in the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) put me in touch with a colleague who organises the PLACE inspections at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals. I contacted them and was allowed to take part in the inspections with the other patient and staff assessors and was given support on the day to assess the environments. Before taking part in the PLACE inspections at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) in April 2014, I had not spent much time in a hospital and when I had been there I hadn’t paid much attention to the quality of the environment. I also hadn’t had the chance to talk to patients about their experience and how they were being looked after, so I was looking forward to this opportunity to find out more.

When I attended the hospital I found that in general the wards were in good condition and appeared to be safe and clean. However on visiting a temporary ward I found the environment to be a lower standard as it appeared cluttered and unclean. I feel that, if a patient is admitted onto a temporary ward it does not mean that they deserve a lesser quality of care than patients on permanent wards, and therefore felt that the environment needed to be improved. Whilst on the ward I took the opportunity to speak to patients about their experiences and found out that some people weren’t sleeping well at night due to noise from other patients. I also spoke to a patient who could not eat the sandwich that was offered to her as she had toothache and the sandwich had been kept frozen beforehand. The feedback I gave on the ward had an effect on the site’s scores in PLACE which was published in August 2014.

Overall, I found taking part in the visit to be an absolutely amazing experience. My involvement means that I now have a great deal more knowledge and understanding of hospitals and patient care and experience. It has helped me in my work because I can now see the bigger picture much more clearly and it is easier for me to think like a patient. Taking part in the visit has reminded me that it is not just about analysing data, playing with figures on Excel or creating fancy charts, but it is about trying to improve patient experience and the level of care for everyone.

From now on I will always remember those patients I spoke to whenever I carry out any task at work while knowing that there are millions more people in different hospitals throughout England.

I really feel privileged to help provide high quality care for all, now and for future generations.