Great work by our PLACE inspection team
PLACE stands for Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment. A PLACE Assessment focuses entirely on the care environment and does not assess clinical care provision.
There are four areas that are assessed: access to privacy for patients and respect for their dignity, food and hydration, cleanliness, and general building condition and maintenance. Assessment teams are made up of 50% staff and 50% service users.
Each year, the PLACE inspection team visits all of our inpatient wards, making sure that Greater Manchester West is providing the best environments for its service users. The team looks at a variety of standards such as cleanliness, quality of the food, privacy and dignity and the buildings general condition and maintenance.
The inspection team is made up of GMW staff and service users. This year we have increased our service user participation and have recruited ten service users and carers to assist us with these inspections. Having service users and carers on board has really enriched the PLACE inspection process and provided us with crucial feedback from those who use our services.
If you are a service user or carer, or would like to recommend a service user/carer to get involved with the PLACE inspection team, please email cathy.lovatt@gmmh.nhs.uk
Role descriptions for becoming a PLACE inspector can be found here: https://www.gmmh.nhs.uk/roles-for-service-users-and-carers