§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the score for each element in the external audit of cleanliness for each NHS hospital; [16841]
(2) if he will publish the external audit of cleanliness for each NHS hospital in each of the 14 specified elements. [16843]
§ Ms BlearsOn 31 October 2001, the Department published the results of the most recent assessments of cleanliness for national health service hospitals. These results reflect the overall standard of the patient environment. The publication of these results is in line with the commitment we gave in the NHS plan to place this information in the public domain.
The score for each element of the external audit of cleanliness for NHS hospitals has been reported to the NHS trusts concerned. The scores must be interpreted in the context of the written recommendations of the patient environment action teams (PEATs). The publication of the score for each individual element alone will not provide a rounded assessment of standards within each hospital.
NHS trusts are still working to complete the implementation of their 2001–02 patient environment action plans and we expect to see continued improvements throughout the coming months. NHS trusts must incorporate the recommendations of the PEATs within their existing patient environment action plans, as a means of delivering further improvements. These improvements will be reflected in raised scores for each element of the inspection process by April 2002.
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