PATIENTS, staff and carers have been telling hospital bosses what they think of Whipps Cross in workshops held throughout August.
In the first of three sessions of the ‘In Your Shoes’ initiative, which is part of the hospital’s Whipps Cross Patient Experience Revolution campaign, patients were the focus and participants met with trust staff to discuss their experiences at the Leytonstone hospital.
Nancy Fontaine, deputy director of nursing – patient safety and quality, said: “We all want to offer the best quality care to our patients, but in light of our performance in the recent in patient survey it’s clear we needed a revolution in the quality of our patient experience.
“The sessions have been well attended and I believe we have achieved our main objective in opening relationships with our patients even further by offering realistic opportunities for two way discussions which will ultimately go some way in helping to improve the quality of patient experience at Whipps Cross.”
The patients were divided into groups with staff members as group leaders to discuss in an open forum to discuss positives and negatives about the hospital, covering areas such as inpatient care, day surgery and discharge.
Stephen Jacobs, Whipps Cross chairman, said: “I am a local and Whipps Cross is close to my heart. I know that our patients expect high standards and that we have the staff to deliver the high standards they expect.
“Although, as highlighted today, it seems the things we need to improve on are small and achievable, they really will make a big difference to overall patient experience.”
The Guardian reported in April that hospital staff made 27 serious blunders last year.
The mistakes, known as Serious Untoward Incidents (SUIs), were among thousands of errors made by NHS workers last year as staff shortages continued to take their toll, resulting in misdiagnosis and even death.
However, SUIs also refer to major errors such as losing confidential patient data.
The total for Whipps included the theft of a desktop computer from Elizabeth ward in February, which was the first instance of a computer containing this kind of confidential data being stolen.
The computer, which was password protected, contained private details of as many as 550 patients and included names, dates of birth, treatment information and diagnosis.
The hospital became one of the first in the country to appoint a deputy director in charge of care, safety and quality when it appointed Miss Fontaine.
There will be separate sessions for staff and carers as part of the revolution campaign.
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