This page contains information for the 2025 Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE).
What is Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE)?
Every NHS patient should be cared for with compassion and dignity in a clean, safe environment. If there are areas of our service that need improvements, this should be brought to our attention so that we can take action.
PLACE allows our patients and members of the community to come to our hospitals and assess how the environment supports clinical care. In the approximate 4–5-hour assessment, we will be looking at cleanliness, general building maintenance and how our services support the care of those with dementia or with a disability. Food tasting is also part of the assessment.
How often do these assessments take place?
PLACE takes place annually.
Who is eligible to take part?
Everyone is welcome to take part in PLACE. We want people whose experience of the site/organisation would be as a user rather than as a provider. So, if you are a relative, carer, friend, patient advocate, or volunteer, we want to hear your thoughts.
We are encouraging as many people to join the assessment as possible to ensure improvements reflect as many voices as possible and you don’t need to have been a patient at the Trust to take part.
Some recent personal experience of in-patient care is useful, although it is not essential. This could be as a patient, relative, carer, friend, patient advocate, volunteer, Trust/organisation membership and Trust/organisation governor. You will be called a patient assessor even if you are not a patient yourself.
Age is no barrier to being a patient assessor. It can be particularly helpful to have input from children and young people for paediatric areas. Older people make up the majority of the adult in-patient population, so should ideally be well-represented in the PLACE team.
Why are there no PLACE assessments at New QEII or Hertford County Hospital?
PLACE assessments are only required to take place where a hospital has inpatients.
How is my feedback used to make changes?
Each person’s feedback will provide an insight into areas of improvement within the care environment. These published results provide a clear message, directly from you as a service user, about how the environment or services might be enhanced.
Will I have to pay for parking?
Parking is reimbursed for all who take part in PLACE. At Lister hospital, parking is reimbursed only within the multi-storey car park; we cannot refund parking from other parking areas. A permit can be acquired for Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. More information can be found by emailing [email protected].
How can you get involved?
Applications are now open for this year. If you would like to take part, please email our PLACE team expressing your interest and everything else can be covered at a later stage.
