Trust continuing to do well in patient environment assessment

The quality of food offered to patients at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is ‘excellent’, a new survey has found.

This year’s Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) report, published last week, rates the quality of food available at the Trust’s hospitals as ‘excellent’, which is a continuation on last year’s performance where they achieved the same rating. The report, carried out each year, looks at a number of areas including cleanliness, bathroom facilities and décor, as well as privacy and dignity standards.

Julie Burgess, chief executive, said: “This excellent result is a tribute to the continued efforts of staff to improve standards. Nutrition of our patients is very important to the Trust and it is great to have performed so well in this area”.

There has also been an improvement in the privacy and dignity category, with Heatherwood Hospital moving from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. Earlier this year, an unannounced Care Quality Commission inspection into dignity and nutrition found the Trust to be compliant with treating older people well during their hospital stay, in particular treating them with dignity and respect and meeting their nutritional needs.

Deirdre Thompson, director of nursing, said: “We work very hard to make sure that our hospitals offer the best possible care in a clean and safe environment to our patients. We take dignity and nutrition very seriously so it is rewarding to know that the survey found that our patients are being treated in a way that is dignified and respectful”.

The Trust has a number of initiatives in place to ensure that older patients are cared for appropriately, including the recent introduction of slipper socks that can help to prevent slips and falls. The double-sided non-slip slipper socks provide extra safety for patients at a higher risk of falling and are a visual reminder for staff that patients may need assistance, without compromising their dignity. Privacy curtain signs have also recently been relaunched to alert other patients and staff when cubicles are in use, encouraging curtained areas to be approached as if they are closed doors and for conversations to be conducted quietly.