Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE)-Lite Guidance

PLACE-Lite is recommended good practice to complement the annual PLACE collection and it is an effective way of assessing and monitoring progress in areas identified as requiring improvement and for preparation in advance of the main collection.

This guide is a standalone document to use as an aide. It identifies where practice may differ from the standard PLACE programme and where organisations should determine their own approach. 

The annual PLACE programme was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the operational difficulties and associated risks brought about by COVID-19.  PLACE-Lite remained open for healthcare organisations to undertake assessments if they choose to do so.

In 2022 the annual PLACE programme was reintroduced; however, it is strongly recommended that organisations undertake PLACE-Lite assessments throughout the year as standard (and in addition to PLACE).  

The 2023 PLACE-Lite module will be launched at the same time as the full PLACE 2023 programme. Until then, the 2022 assessment year will remain open for use.

All organisations and sites are eligible for inclusion in PLACE regardless of size or bed numbers; this is also relevant to PLACE-Lite. Generally, organisations are asked to include only units of 10 beds or more; there are no such restrictions in PLACE-Lite, but consideration should be given to the benefits of undertaking such a small assessment. 

Organisations are free to choose the areas they would like to cover in their PLACE-Lite assessments (for example, the number of wards and/or outpatient departments).

The number and membership of teams undertaking PLACE-Lite assessments is for organisations to decide, it is not a requirement to include patient assessors. However, we do recommend following the approach used for PLACE as far as is possible. 

The relevant guidance on hospital visitors and use of volunteers should be followed where organisations plan to invite patient representatives/volunteers to take part. 

It might be worth considering assessment teams drawn from internal infection, prevention and control, nursing, facilities management, and estates staff as well as from the senior team and the organisation’s governors. We do recommend using people from outside your organisation, if possible (for example, enlisting support from staff in neighbouring trusts).

It is for organisations to decide how and when they organise and undertake their PLACE-Lite assessment(s).  We know the frequencies vary with some organisations preferring monthly assessments, quarterly, every 6 months, or annually.

PLACE is intended to be unannounced to ensure that a true reflection of the site/area is viewed and to avoid any reactionary issue resolution prior to arrival which might impact the scores. This is managed locally during the PLACE programme to fit with practical issues of managing the assessments on the day. We recommend a similar approach for PLACE-Lite, but this should be determined by the organisation with consideration given to the areas chosen to be assessed. 

On completion of a PLACE-Lite assessment, scores are generated based on the areas assessed using the same methodology as in PLACE. There is a separate document available detailing this which can be downloaded from the collection page, as well as guidance on each scorecard.

PLACE Lite results are for local use only; they will not be published or monitored centrally. Organisations can use their results as they see fit and this includes sharing them with the Care Quality Commission if they choose to do so.

Individual organisations are encouraged to complete an action plan and determine timeframes for addressing areas for improvement identified during assessments.