At least a dozen NHS units in England are treating patients in poor or unacceptable conditions, an official report says today.

A national survey of 1,265 medical sites found that the vast majority of facilities scored either “excellent” (24 per cent) or “good” (60 per cent) for standards of cleanliness, decoration, linen, furniture and general state of repair.

But of the rest, more than one in six sites (15 per cent) had only “acceptable” working conditions, while nine sites were rated “poor” by the local Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) assessments.

Three sites — all rehabilitation units for mental health patients — were rated “unacceptable” for their environment: Windmill House in Bushey, West Hertfordshire; Norfolk Lodge, in Colliers Wood, South London; and Lodge Causeway, in Bristol.

The National Patient Safety Agency, which publishes the scores, said that poorly-performing sites would be followed up by the regional health authorities or the Care Quality Commission, the NHS regulator, to make sure standards were improved.

The PEAT programme was established in 2000 to assess all NHS hospitals with more than ten beds every year on a range of standards including food and whether patients were treated with dignity and privacy.

The assessment teams consist of NHS staff, including nurses, matrons, doctors, catering and domestic service managers, executive and non-executive directors, dietitians and estates directors. Most also include patients and members of the public.

A total of 94 per cent of sites scored ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ ratings for levels of privacy and dignity, which examined the quality of their sleeping accommodation as well as toilet and bathroom facilities.

But Thorneywood Unit, a child mental health clinic run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, and Norfolk Lodge, part of South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust were rated unacceptable.

On food, 95 per cent of sites achieved an "excellent" or "good" ratings for quality, choice and availability of their menus. Just one unit, Ogden House in Ramsgate, a mental health inpatient unit, was rated unacceptable for its food.

Ann Keen, the Health Minister, said that the increase in trusts achieving good results was “great news for NHS staff and patients”.

“Cleanliness is a top patient priority and these results show that the measures we have in place are working. We are also delighted to see such high scores in the area of privacy and dignity.”

Ms Keen said that she expected to see further improvements in next year’s results after a drive to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation in the NHS.

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