This year’s Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) report, published this week, rates the quality of food available at Wycombe, Amersham and Stoke Mandeville hospitals as ‘excellent’. This is an improvement on last year’s performance where Stoke Mandeville Hospital was assessed as ‘good’.

The report looks at a range of areas, including food, cleanliness, bathroom facilities and décor. In addition the survey - carried out by a team including Trust staff and a patient representative - also looks at privacy and dignity standards.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare made major improvements in patient’s privacy and dignity and were rated as ‘excellent’ at both Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe, and ‘good’ at Amersham Hospital.  Again this is a big improvement on the 2009 results, where Wycombe Hospital was rated ‘acceptable’ and Stoke Mandeville Hospital ‘good’.

There has also been an improvement in the environment category with Wycombe Hospital moving from ‘acceptable to ‘good’ while at Stoke Mandeville Hospital remains ‘acceptable’ and  Amersham Hospital ‘good’.

Ian Garlington, director of property services at the Trust, said the report paints a very encouraging picture: “We are delighted with the improvements we have made this year especially with our food. We understand the importance of good nutrition to aid our patients’ recoveries and ensure we offer good, balanced meals,” he said.

“The assessment shows patients can be reassured that they will be treated in clean, safe hospitals where their privacy and dignity are paramount concerns. The overall the assessment underlines that we’re helping to make our patient promises, like safe care in clean hospitals, a reality.”

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust was one of 324 to take part in the annual survey this year.

Notes to editors:

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s PEAT assessment results for 2010:

Amersham Hospital - Environment: Good, Food: Excellent, Privacy and dignity: Good
Stoke Mandeville Hospital  - Environment: Acceptable, Food: Excellent, Privacy and dignity: Excellent
Wycombe Hospital - Environment: Good, Food: Excellent, Privacy and dignity: Excellent

PEAT is an annual assessment, established in 2000, of inpatient healthcare sites in England with more than ten beds. The scores demonstrate how well individual healthcare providers believe they are performing in key areas including food, cleanliness, infection control and patient environment.

NHS sites and NHS trusts are each given scores from 1 (unacceptable) to 5 (excellent) for standards of environment, food and dignity and privacy within buildings.

Assessments are carried out by NHS staff (nurses, matrons, doctors, catering and domestic service managers, executive and non-executive directors, dieticians and estates directors). Patients, patient representatives and members of the public are also part of this assessment process. 

• Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust provide a wide range of high quality acute and community services from three acute hospital sites in Amersham, Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe, five community hospitals at Thame, Marlow, Buckingham, Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross and Waterside, and a number of community sites across the county. Details of these can be found here: http://www.buckinghamshirehospitals.nhs.uk/community-health-services.htm,

• Specialist services include our regional dermatology, allergy and skin cancer centre, burns care and plastics sub-regional centre, cardiac services and the National Spinal Injuries Centre

• More than 6,000 staff serve residents across Buckinghamshire, Thame (Oxfordshire), Tring (Hertfordshire) and Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - a combined population of 500,000. It serves a much larger population, 1.5m, for burns and plastic services and 14m for spinal injuries

• On 1 April 2010 Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust became the new partner to Community Health Buckinghamshire

For further information, contact the communications team on 01494 734959 or at communications@buckshosp.nhs.uk.