OKEHAMPTON?S new hospital has high standards to live up to, in quality of food and cleanliness, following the award of the green light to its predecessors.
Three months after the new £4-million hospital in Okehampton opened, it has been announced that Okehampton Castle and Memorial Hospitals both scored top marks for food and cleanliness in an assessment by the Department of Health.
Okehampton Castle and Memorial Hospitals were assessed before they were closed following the opening of the new hospital.
Double green lights have been awarded to all the hospitals in the Mid Devon Primary Care Trust area, in the Department of Health?s latest standards.
Lesley Dunnaway, chief executive of Mid Devon Primary Care Trust, said: ?This is the first time that all our hospitals have been awarded double green lights and it?s a credit to all our catering and cleaning staff in particular, who have worked hard to achieve this.
?Good food and cleanliness are important parts of health care we all provide and these awards reflect on the high standards we are always keen to achieve and maintain in local health services.?
Marilyn Poat, hotel services manager at the two hospitals, said: ?Okehampton hotel services staff are delighted with the double green light which reflects their hard work over the year.
?Patients can also be reassured that their hospital has been judged to serve very good food in a clean and tidy environment.?
The latest award comes a month after Mid Devon Primary Care Trust was rated as being a good two star Trust in the national star ratings, overseen by the Commission for Health Improvement. A recent patient survey also found a high level of patient satisfaction.
The traffic light ratings are the result of assessments which measure standards of cleanliness in areas which visitors say are important to them.
These include:
l reception and waiting areas
l corridors and other common areas
l toilets, furniture and linen
l grounds and fabric of the hospital
Hospital food was measured on its quality and flexibility, and whether patients can access snack boxes if they miss main mealtimes, or wish to eat something lighter.