peat

Patient Environment Action Team

A team which undertakes peer reviews of NHS trusts’ compliance with UK Department of Health standards across a range of parameters, including food, cleanliness, infection control and patient environment (bathrooms, décor, lighting, patient areas). PEATs include people from outside the trust (e.g., from infection control), personnel and patient representatives, and provide a local “snapshot” of the hospital environment on the day of the visit. A PEAT report is produced after each site visit, and may include an action plan if the required standards are not being met.

peat

an accumulation of dead plant material formed in wet conditions in bogs or fens in the absence of oxygen so that decomposition is incomplete. It is usually acidic.

peat,

n in balneotherapy, a mossy plant substance used in baths and peloids. An antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antineoplastic, antiviral substance, the effects of which include immunological stimulation, increased metabolism, and vessel dilation. See also balneotherapy and peloid.

peat, peat moss

used as bedding for housed cattle and horses and is very absorbent of water.

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peat scours

chronic diarrhea in ruminants grazing pasture on peat-derived soils low in copper and/or high in molybdenum. See also copper nutritional deficiency, molybdenum.