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Patient Experience Training: Heart, Lung and Critical Care Clinical Group at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals

The Heart, Lung and Critical Care Clinical Group (HLCC) comprises the specialist heart and lung services at The Royal Brompton, Harefield, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals. These services cover a large geographical area.  

In 2021, the Patient and Public Engagement Team at HLCC commissioned the Point of Care Foundation to deliver a bespoke Foundations in Patients’ Experience Programme to 25 clinical and non-clinical staff and patient advisors from the clinical group across the hospital sites. The programme was conducted and completed in 2022.  

As a newly merged group, the programme aimed to forge strong working relationships across the group and share learning about what works well in patient experience, improvement and involvement.  

The programme initially focused on what is already known within the Trust about people’s experience, how best to use existing data, and when additional data are needed. It then went on to build from this to thinking about best ways of using experience data, and ultimately providing the tools to work in partnership with patients in generating ideas for improvements, and co-designing solutions together.  

The programme delegates devised programme ideas which they practiced pitching to each other and went on to test out in practice. We focused on practical actions that HLCC staff could take away and make immediate change. 

Delegates’ improvement projects focused on the Trust’s strategic priorities, and included initiatives to improve: 

  • the clarity of communication about appointments 
  • shared decision making 
  • the process for discharge  
  • embedding a family liaison role into critical care  
  • self-management support post discharge 
  • Improving patients’ experience of the home IV service 
  • food choices for people with special dietary needs 
  • awareness of the diversity of feedback channel open to patients

One programme delegate said: 

The Foundations of Patient Experience supports the delivery of an evidence-based approach to experienced based co-design. It builds knowledge of the importance in equal collaboration between patients and staff, showing how it can lead to increased satisfaction, cost savings and improved efficiency.  The course empowers participants by providing tips and tools which can then be used back in the workplace to improve patience and family centred care.” 

 –Karen Taylor, Lead Patient and Public Engagement HLCC 

 

Overall, the delegates rated the programme content and facilitators positively at over 90%. Delegates working in patient experience, without exception agreed that the course had helped them to feel more confident to make a meaningful improvement in patient and family centred care. They agreed that the programme empowered them to influence others to think and work differently in future.  

HLCC are looking forward to their celebration event in March 2023 when we’ll be sharing the outputs of their project work so far. The Point of Care Foundation is looking forward to continuing their relationship with the HLCC delegates through its Communities of Practice.  

NB. Funding for the training was provided by: HR at Royal Brompton Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity, and the Patient Experience Team at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.