Peterborough and Cambridgeshire dementia patients among best looked after in the country, data reveals

Patient-led evaluations – known as PLACE assessments – are carried out annually in a bid to drive improvement in the quality of patient environments at NHS hospitals and hospices across England.

They involve volunteers going into hospitals as part of teams to rate the non-clinical elements of care, such as catering services and waiting facilities.

Areas including cleanliness, patient privacy and the quality of food are reviewed, alongside the way sites support people with dementia and disabilities.

And the NHS Digital figures reveal that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust scored 98.2 per cent for offering a dementia-friendly environment, in comparison to the national average of 80.7 per cent.

Volunteers determining if a site is dementia-friendly will look at whether floors are plain coloured and non-slippery, signs are clearly visible and the correct day, date and time is visible in patient areas, among several other criteria.

Emma Bould, programme partnerships manager at dementia charity Alzheimer’s Society, said: "We know that staying in hospital can often be a stressful experience, especially for a person with dementia who may be more easily disorientated or confused.

"By listening to patients and making dementia-friendly adaptions to a hospital setting, hospitals can be transformed into safe spaces that will give people a sense of independence and reduce anxiety.

"There are now 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, and with numbers predicted to double for the next generation it’s vital that all hospital sites make reasonable adjustments and adopt dementia-friendly practices."

PLACE assessors will also judge the quality of access for disabled people at NHS sites, including whether there are handrails in corridors and at least one toilet large enough for a wheelchair and carer.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust scored 95.9 per cent for how it accommodates disabled people – the national average was 82.5 per cent.

NHS data shows that more than a third of trusts are not meeting the national average for dementia, while more than 40 per cent are falling below the national figure for disability. The national average incorporates scores from private, independent and voluntary providers which also took part in PLACE assessments.

How did Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust score in its latest PLACE assessment?

Cleanliness - 99.9%

Food - 96.2%

Patients' privacy, dignity and wellbeing - 94.3%

Condition, appearance and maintenance - 99.1%

Dementia-friendly - 98.2%

Disability-friendly - 95.9%