A £273,000 BOOST to tidy up Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital has helped to improve its standards of cleanliness.

Patient Environment Assessment Team (PEAT) inspectors made an unannounced visit at the Headington-based centre and were impressed by work to improve the hospital.

Managers were awarded three out of a possible score of four for cleaning up wards, corridors and reception areas.

In February, the hospital was awarded two out of four after a similar visit by a PEAT team, which said standards were poor and improvements were needed in public areas and in the grounds.

Since then, the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which oversees the JR, has invested £152,000 of Government money, £104,000 from their own budget, and £17,000 charity funding for a range of projects, including new wheelie bins, replacing furniture, decorating the hospital with art work, and litter picking.

Trevor Payne, ORH head of facilities, said: "The team commented that significant improvement had been made since the last visit and this has been supported by staff comments on the JR site.

"We have now raised performance and standards to match current expectation. This level of performance and quality relating to the patient environment will need to be sustained year on year."