A CARE trust has been ranked among the best-performing NHS organisations in the country.

Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust has scored highly for the fifth year running in the Patient-led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE).

Assessors visited the Airedale Centre for Mental Health – in the grounds of Airedale Hospital at Steeton – and Lynfield Mount Hospital, Bradford, in May.

The team included service users, relatives, carers and patient advocates.

They scored and commented on cleanliness, the quality and availability of food and drink, how well the building met the needs of users and to what extent the environment protected people's privacy and dignity.

The assessment also considered how dementia-friendly the patient environment was – focusing on flooring, decor and signage, plus things such as the availability of handrails and appropriate seating.

Quality of food served to patients at the Airedale Centre for Mental Health scored 98.83 per cent, and the trust was ranked third overall in the category.

Lynfield Mount received a 100 per cent rating.

The trust was second overall for privacy, dignity and wellbeing and third for condition, appearance and maintenance.

Andrew Morris, deputy director of estates and facilities at the trust, welcomed the findings.

"Having a good environment for patients makes a big difference to their recovery and helps them feel better," he said.

"Our staff work very hard to ensure the wards are clean, well maintained and comfortable.

"We are pleased that our PLACE results are telling us we're achieving this.

"However, we are never complacent and know there are things we can work on. We will take all the assessors' comments on board and see how we can improve further in these areas."

Areas for improvement identified by PLACE included way-finding signage to Lynfield Mount Hospital from the bus stop, cosmetic decoration works and damage to some lockers.

For more details, visit bdct.nhs.uk/about-us/key-information/place-results/.