Trust scores highly in national patient experience survey

Guy’s and St Thomas’ has been rated above the national average in all categories of new patient-led assessments which were published today (Thursday 16 August).

Results of the annual Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) also showed that the Trust had improved in five out of six scores compared with last year, with the rating for providing a dementia-friendly environment improving by nearly 7%.

Teams of patient assessors and staff visited Guy’s Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Lambeth Community Care Centre, Minnie Kidd House in Balham and Pulross Intermediate Care Centre in Brixton.

More than 50 patient assessors, which also includes families, visitors and patient advocates, together with staff, undertook assessments between April and May this year.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ scored the following in the six categories of the assessments:

• 99.73% for cleanliness (national average 98.5%)
• 93.48% for food and hydration (national average 90.2%)
• 90.37% for privacy, dignity and well-being (national average 84.2%)
• 95.91% for the condition, appearance and maintenance of facilities (national average 94.3%)
• 84.99% for dementia-friendly environment (national average 78.9%)
• 84.7% for disability (national average 84.2%).

Peter Bennett, facilities services director at Guy’s and St Thomas’, says: “We are delighted that the Trust has scored above the national average in all six categories of the PLACE assessments. There have been some significant improvements compared with our scores from last year, particularly in the dementia-friendly environment category.

“We have focused on dementia-friendly projects, including the introduction of large-faced clocks, reducing the light-reflectivity of our floors, using pictures and words in signage, and making sure the needs of dementia patients are considered in any design work, to ensure that people with dementia are as comfortable as possible at the Trust.

“It is a great achievement that we are also now above the national average in the disability category. This reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring that our sites are accessible to people with a disability. Last year we worked closely with DisabledGo to create an online accessibility guide for our hospitals and community centres.

“We are grateful to patients, families and visitors who take the time to provide feedback about their experience at the Trust. This allows us to gain important insight and ensure that all patients coming to our sites have a positive experience. There is always room for improvement and we continually welcome comments from patients about how we can make our services and facilities even better.”

Full results are available on the NHS Digital website.