3 June 2010
A national survey, which involves patients and members of the public, has shown that the food at Epsom Hospital has further improved over the past year.
Figures from this year's PEAT (Patient Environment Action Team) assessment, which was undertaken in February, show that the Trust scored highly across a number of standards relating to the hospital's environment.
The survey looks at range of factors that could affect a patient's experience during their stay at the hospital, including cleanliness, privacy and dignity, the catering service and the hospital environment itself: from how hot or cold the hospital is to how it smells. The survey also takes into account factors outside the buildings themselves, such as how easy the hospitals are to access and car parking.
Epsom Hospital maintained its ratings of 'good' for environment and 'good' for privacy and dignity, but succeeded in further improving its rating for food to the highest level possible: 'excellent'.
Pippa Hart, Director of Nursing said: "We are absolutely committed to providing every single one of our patients with high quality care in a clean, welcoming environment. The PEAT assessment is extremely thorough - to be rated 'good' is an achievement, but for the food to be rated 'excellent' at Epsom Hospital shows that our hard work in this area is really paying off."
Last year, the Trust relaunched its 'protected mealtimes' initiative for all patients. The initiative makes sure patients at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are given the time - and the attention from nursing staff - they require to eat their meals.
Madeline Boissiere was one of the patient representatives on the assessment team. She said: "Relaunching protected mealtimes has really made a fantastic change for patients. At breakfast, lunch and dinner time now the wards are calm - with patients given the peace and quiet they need to eat and enjoy their meals."
Head of Environmental Support Services, Jane Ward said: "We are delighted to have been rated so highly in the PEAT assessment. The fact that we have improved on our success last year shows just how committed we are to the experience that all our patients have in our hospitals - from how clean our hospitals are to the quality of the food service."
The Patient Environment Action Team programme was established to assess NHS hospitals in 2000, and has been managed by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) since 2006. Under the programme, every inpatient healthcare facility in England with more than ten beds is assessed annually and given a rating of 'excellent', 'good', 'acceptable', 'poor' or 'unacceptable'.
The assessment teams consist of patients, patient representatives and members of the public. They also include NHS staff, including nurses, matrons, doctors, catering and domestic service managers, executive and non-executive directors, dieticians and estates directors.
The results of the PEAT assessment come hot on the heels of the Care Quality Commission's 2009 NHS Inpatient Survey, which also showed the Trust has made improvements over the last year.
