The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is committed to working in partnership with patients, the public and local communities to ensure that its services are both relevant and responsive to local needs. As a provider of specialist services on a regional, national and sometimes international basis, the trust is also cognisant of the need to involve patients, the public and wider stakeholder communities in relation to trust services and development activities.
Providing an excellent experience for our patients, staff and GPs is central to the trust's governing aims for the next five years.
We have had a mission to provide care and prevent ill health since we were founded, but the environment around us has changed enormously, and will continue to change. We must respond to these changes - in the population's needs and expectations, in technology and in the economics underpinning healthcare.
For 2011/12 the patient experience improvement plan is focusing on three key areas for improvement, these are:
The progress of the improvement plan will be monitored by the patient experience steering group which meets monthly and is overseen by the User Experience Committee (a sub-committee of the trust board).
Privacy and dignity
The national inpatient survey shows that the trust does not perform as well as others in treating patients with dignity and respect and ensuring their privacy. There are three key work streams being undertaken. They are:
- World class care programme - a bespoke programme of cultural change delivered in collaboration with an external partner which will support a consistent culture of compassion quality and personal responsibility amongst frontline teams.
- Embedding intentional nurse rounding - a system implemented by which nurses attend to each patient on an hourly basis focusing on four key areas of patient need, whether they have pain, whether they need to use the toilet, whether they are comfortably positioned and whether they have everything they need close by. Research has shown that intentional nurse rounding improves the experience that patients have of their care.
- Embedding the learning from the Care Quality Commission inspection and subsequent action plan - this plan includes interventions further designed to improve privacy and dignity and responsiveness to patient need.
Reducing waiting
The inpatient survey, feedback from our members and patient complaints tell us that we need to improve in this area. The four key work streams are:
- Out-patients - a programme of improving outpatient administration including development of patient self service and review and centralisation of patient contact centre.
- Phlebotomy - a comprehensive improvement plan including investment in new infrastructure, restructure and amalgamation of phlebotomy and cannulation teams.
- Discharge - a ward discharge programme plan which focuses on safe, timely, informed discharge from an inpatient stay.
- Transport - a plan in collaboration with external transport provider to ensure transport is provided in a timely, safe manner both to and from the hospital.
Leadership development
We recognise that the leadership behaviours of our staff are critical to improving the experience of our patients. Bespoke leadership programmes are being delivered in partnership with the Kings Fund and Ashridge Business School for clinical directors, operational managers and matrons and locally for ward sisters and charge nurses.
An exemplar ward project is also being implemented, led by a faculty of senior leaders, who will work with the multi-disciplinary team leadership of wards to enable measurable, achievable improvement, delivered through effective and proactive leadership and superb team work.
| For more information about improving ‘Our patient experience’ please contact |
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Jennifer Kenward
Patient experience manager
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020 7794 0500 x 35965 |
| Fax: |
020 7830 2973 |
| Email: |
rfh.patientexperience@nhs.net |