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A clean sweep for Sherwood Forest Hospitals

Posted onPosted on 18th Aug

Sherwood Forest Hospitals is one of the best trusts in the country for cleanliness according to the latest PLACE (Patient-led Assessments of the Care Environment) assessment.

The trust’s overall cleanliness rating is 99.74% – above the national average of 98.4%.

The figures, published by NHS Digital, also rated the trust above the national average for its food, the condition of its buildings and how the environment allows patients to be treated with dignity.

Assessments were carried out by patient groups, including Healthwatch, members of the Trust and members of the Board of Governors, focusing on all three sites at the trust (King’s Mill Hospital, Newark Hospital and Mansfield Community Hospital) rating them for cleanliness, food; privacy, dignity and wellbeing; condition, appearance and maintenance; dementia and disability.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals Director of Strategic Planning, Peter Wozencroft, said: “We are working hard to provide our patients with outstanding care and facilities, these results provide a great insight into how our patients rate our hospitals and it is really useful to see what we are doing well and where we can further improve. Our staff should be really proud of these scores, which reflect the efforts they have made, as we continue on our journey to become an outstanding Trust.

“We acknowledge that there are areas where we can further improve, for instance dementia services at Newark Hospital, which scored just below the national average at 72.04%. These services are being reviewed, with a Dementia Care Appeal having been launched earlier this year to help fund improvements.

“We plan to provide a safer and more welcoming environment for the growing population of people living with dementia to improve their overall care and patient experience. As we have seen with our Woodland Ward at King’s Mill, which has been adapted to improve services for patient with dementia, adaptations have proved to help reduce falls and even length of stay.

“We know we still have work to do, but I am confident that over the next year we will continue to improve.”

Nationally, the average score for dementia was 76.7%. At King’s Mill the score was 79.10%; at Newark Hospital it was 72.04% up from 55.22% last year; and at Mansfield Community Hospital it was 83.56% up from 67.39% last year.

The trust said it remained focused on improving services to cater for patients with dementia, and well-established plans have already resulted in the Woodland Ward at King’s Mill, which cares for older, frail patients, many of whom have dementia, being among areas recognised by the Care Quality Commission for being exemplar.

A dedicated dementia nurse has also been appointed to drive further improvements in care for patients with dementia.

The PLACE assessments were introduced in April 2013 and replaced the Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) inspections. The assessments apply to hospitals, hospices and day treatment centres providing NHS-funded care.

They focus on the environment, rather than clinical care.