Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust has been rated highly in the Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) results, released 30 January 2020, exceeding the national average across many areas.

The PLACE assessments look at the patient environment and how well it supports and enhances the provision of clinical care and are carried out by groups of assessors including service users, relatives, carers and patient advocates.

The annual assessments score NHS organisations on cleanliness, quality and availability of food and drink, how well the building meets the needs of the people who use it and how well the environment protects people’s privacy and dignity.

PLACE assessors also consider how dementia friendly the patient environment is. This focuses on flooring, decor and signage, but also includes things such as availability of handrails and appropriate seating, which can help those who have dementia.

The Trust scored highly across all areas, beating the national averages across many. In particular, the quality of food at Lynfield Mount Hospital received a score of 100 per cent, with Airedale Centre for Mental Health scoring 97.37 per cent. The Trust also received an average of 98.63 per cent for their assessment on Privacy, Dignity and Wellbeing, putting the Trust sixth overall out of all the NHS organisations that were assessed in this area.

Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Simon Adamson, Deputy Director of Estates and Facilities said: “We are delighted with the results, which reflect the hard work and commitment that our staff put in every day to ensure that the patient experience is a positive one. A clean, comfortable environment can make a big difference to a person’s feelings about their treatment and recovery, so as well as celebrating this result we will also consider the assessors’ comments to see how we can improve our environments even more in the future.