Analysis
NURSING MANAGEMENT April 2009 | Volume 16 | Number 1 7
Speakers at the launch of the document,
at University College london hospitals NhS
Foundation Trust (UClh), included health
minister lord Darzi and chief nursing
officer for england Dame Chris Beasley.
Ward sister Samantha Philpott,
who works at the heart hospital, part
of UClh, listed the factors that can
ensure the success of ward sisters or
charge nurses.
These factors include:
Managerial support and recognition.
human resources advice.
Feeling valued.
Training and education.
Administrative support.
Good `work-life' balance.
Sharing experience and knowledge.
Succession planning.
She said: `As the ward sister's post is
the first role with people management
responsibility, it is vital that training in this
aspect of the role is offered on induction.
`My own experience as a ward sister
for five years was that human resources
training was not available.
`Following feedback and recognition of
this learning need, the trust has introduced
several training courses to assist with the
effective management of sickness and
performance. This will ensure a consistent
approach is maintained which promotes
fairness and respect from the team.'
Stakeholder summit
The rCN and Professor Beasley are
also planning to host a summit of key
stakeholders to clarify: the purpose
and key functions of the ward sister
and charge nurse role; the skills,
competencies and knowledge needed
to fulfil this role; the requirement for
education and skills support to achieve
these; and career pathways for ward
sisters and charge nurses.
To contribute to the debate,
email janet.davies@rcn.org.uk
Staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh
NHS foundation trust have been inspired by
Channel 4's Big Brother programme to set up
a `diary room' in which patients and service
users can share their experiences and suggest
improvements to care services.
the scheme is one of several pilot studies
run by the NHS Institute to test how staff
can take an `experience-based design (EBD)
approach' to improving services.
according to the NHS Institute, use of the
diary room has led to several improvements,
including the setting up of additional
genitourinary medicine clinics to reduce
waiting times, the building of a dedicated
chute between the emergency floor and the
pathology lab to decrease waiting times
for test results, and the use of a patient
information sheet by older patients or their
relatives after discharge.
Sharing experiences
at each of the test sites, patients, carers and
staff studied their own experiences throughout
treatment and care journeys, and then worked
together to make improvements.
at Royal Bolton Hospital NHS foundation
trust, staff handed out diaries to patients
having elective joint replacements and asked
them to record how they felt at each stage of
their journeys. Some patient stories were also
captured on film.
Staff and patients then came together to
think up ideas of how to improve the patient
experience.
Suggestions ranged from the development
of a document, called Top 10 Tips for
Patients Undergoing Joint Surgery, to be
written and compiled by patients, to the
improvement of pain control and the setting
up of an informal patient support group.
Specialist nurse Elizabeth Patel, who
played a leading role in the Bolton project,
said: `from the start of this project, I don't
think any of us involved could have foreseen
the powerful impact it would have on
patients, staff and the wider trust.
`the sessions we ran allowed us to
understand the impact of staff interactions
with patients, some examples of good practice
and some where we could do better to
improve the patient experience.'
Involving patients
Head of innovation practice at the
NHS Institute Lynne Maher said: `If NHS
services are to improve, it's essential that
staff start thinking about how to meaningfully
involve patients.
the EBD approach is at its most powerful
when applied to health care because people
often feel at their most vulnerable when they
need NHS services.
`feedback from our pilot sites has
been overwhelmingly positive. finding out
how patients feel about the service has
helped them to make huge differences
to patient care: improving patient safety,
patient experience and even reducing
unnecessary costs.'
Reality tV inspires hospital staff
to put patients in the hot seat
The NHS Institute is piloting
an `evidence-based design
approach' to improving services.
Nick Lipley reports
for copies of the report, Breaking Down
Barriers, Driving up Standards, go to
www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_
file/0010/230995/003312.pdf
Find out more
the NHS Institute has published a guide
and set of tools to help staff use the EBD
approach effectively. for more information,
or to order a copy of the guide and DVD,
visit www.institute.nhs.uk/ebd
Find out more
Channel4

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44 Produced by PageSuite