Local Hospital Clean Up in Awards
08/12/05
It's official: hospitals managed by Cotswold and Vale Primary Care Trust are in the top ten percent of UK hospitals for the quality of their food and overall patient environment.
Today's announcement by the Department of Health of the results of the annual PEAT (patient environment action team) inspections awards a double 'Excellent' to four of the Trust's six community hospitals.
The Trust is celebrating double 'Excellent' scores for its community hospitals in Stroud, Berkeley, Bourton-on-the-Water and Fairford, and a double 'Good' for Moreton Hospital. Cirencester Hospital scores an 'Excellent' for patient environment and 'Good' for food.
"This is fantastic news," said Assistant Hotel Services Manager, Joan Rachael. "It's a real recognition of all the hard work our hotel services team does 'behind the scenes' to keep our hospitals spotless and make sure our patients can enjoy a pleasant environment."
Hotel services staff at Cotswold and Vale's six community hospitals include cleaning, catering and portering staff.
The annual PEAT inspections, which take place in the first three months of the year, measure UK hospitals for cleanliness, food choice and quality, privacy and dignity, and the quality of the hospital environment.
Inspection teams also look at how user-friendly a hospital is: for example, its signage and how accessible it is for people with disabilities.
Jenny Hincks, Chair of the Cotswold and Vale Patients Forum, was a lay member of the inspection team this year. As well as inspecting community hospitals for cleanliness and overall environment, the team also shared a meal with patients and sampled what was on the hospital menu that day.
"Good food and cleanliness are so important to patient recovery," says Mrs Hincks. "What stood out for me while I was talking to patients on the wards was how 'at home' they feel in our community hospitals.
"They feel they are treated with dignity and respected as individuals. It helps them to get better quicker and eases the time they have to spend in hospital."
Earlier this year, Cotswold and Vale's community hospitals were among the first to launch the national Clean Your Hands campaign, which encourages scrupulous cleanliness as a weapon in the fight against communicable disease, such as MRSA.
"I get compliments all the time about how clean and well looked after our hospitals are," says Joan Rachael. "It's down to the quality of our staff, and gives me a real sense of pride in the work that we do here."
