Patient Environment Assessment Team (PEAT)
Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) is an annual assessment of inpatient healthcare sites in England with 10 or more inpatient beds.
It is a benchmarking tool to ensure improvements are made in the non-clinical aspects of patient care including environment, food, privacy and dignity.
The assessment results help to highlight areas for improvement and share best practice across healthcare organisations in England. Results contribute to the Care Quality Commission's assessment of healthcare providers performance through their Quality and Risk Profiles (QRPs).
How is PEAT assessed?
PEAT is self assessed and provides an inspection framework to demonstrate how well individual healthcare organisations believe they are performing in key areas including:
- infection control
- patient environment (including bathroom areas, lighting, floors and patient areas)
- privacy and dignity
What are the PEAT scores?
Participating hospitals from both the NHS and Independent healthcare sector are each given scores from 1 (unacceptable) to 5 (excellent) for standards of environment, food and dignity and privacy within buildings.
The scores demonstrate how well individual healthcare providers believe they are performing in the key areas (such as food, cleanliness, infection control, patient environment, privacy and dignity).
Who is involved in PEAT assessments?
Assessments are carried out by NHS staff, including nurses, matrons, doctors, catering and domestic service managers, executive and non-executive directors, dieticians and estates directors. Patients, patient representatives and members of the public are also part of this assessment process.
Introduction of Patient-Led Inspections
We are currently developing a new inspection programme for launch in April 2013. This aims to strengthen and formalise the role of patients in both the content of the assessment and the delivery of inspections. We are also taking the opportunity to review all aspects of the assessment and the supporting guidance with a view to producing more robust data and a more consistent approach.