News story

Guidance on patient-led assessments

Guidance and assessment forms for the new patient-led assessments of the care environment (PLACE) have been published by the NHS Commissioning Board.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The new assessment will be introduced in April 2013 and replace the old Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) inspections. The assessments will apply to hospitals, hospices and day treatment centres providing NHS funded care.

The assessments will see local people go into hospitals as part of teams to assess how the environment supports patient’s privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness and general building maintenance. It focuses entirely on the care environment and does not cover clinical care provision or how well staff are doing their job.

Find out more from the NHS Commissioning Board website

Published 5 March 2013