Patient assessors praise Royal Free London’s care environment

Patients have praised many aspects of their experience at the Royal Free London — from the cleanliness of our hospitals and the food we offer, to our focus on ensuring we have an environment which meets the needs of those with dementia or a disability.

The feedback was shared with us via an annual assessment which rated the trust above the national average in many key areas.

The Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) are an appraisal of non-clinical aspects of healthcare settings. They cover domains such as cleanliness, food and hydration provision and the suitability of our buildings for people with dementia or a disability.

A minimum of two patient assessors must be included and make up more than 50% of the assessing team. On the day of the assessment, they visit various areas of the hospital and complete scorecards based on what they observe.

The RFL achieved above the national average in five categories, receiving scores of: 99.3% for cleanliness; 93.71% for combined food; 96.99% for condition, appearance and maintenance; 91.19% for dementia; and 93.27% for disability.

The trust achieved 82.32% in the remaining category of privacy, dignity and wellbeing, behind the national average of 88.22%.

The assessments took place prior to our merger with North Middlesex University Hospital (North Mid).

North Mid scored 97.72% in cleanliness; 82.3% in combined food; 94.56% in condition, appearance and maintenance; 81.26% in dementia; 80.91% in disability; and 84.23% in privacy, dignity and wellbeing.

"I am delighted to see such positive scores," said Julie Hamilton, RFL group chief nurse. "We know our facilities support our staff to provide the best possible care, and it is great to see the patient assessors recognising that.

"We will aim to enhance patient care and improve across all areas and hospitals in the next evaluation.”