Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE)
PLACE is a system for assessing the quality of the patient environment. It is an organisational voluntary self-assessment which takes place annually, and applies to NHS trusts, voluntary, independent and private healthcare providers.
PLACE results show how hospitals are performing both nationally and in relation to other hospitals providing similar services. They provide motivation for improvement by offering a clear message, directly from patients, about how the environment or services might be enhanced.
PLACE assessments involve local people (known as Patient Assessors) going into hospitals as part of teams alongside staff. Patient assessors make up at least 50 per cent of the teams assessing how the environment supports the provision of clinical care, focusing on areas such as:
- privacy and dignity
- food
- cleanliness
- general building maintenance
- how well the needs of patients with dementia are met
- how well the needs of patients with a disability are metÂ
The PLACE assessment forms and supporting guidance documents are available to download from the NHS Digital website link below. This guidance will enable those undertaking assessments to prepare themselves and to provide local training to patient and staff assessors.
Patient-Led Assessments of Care (PLACE)
The documents include both the assessment forms and a variety of guidance material on recruiting and training patient assessors. They also include local training materials and guidance for anyone wishing to become a patient assessor.