'Hello, My Name Is...' co-founder Chris Pointon with WWL Chief Nurse, Rabina Tindale during his visit to the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary as part of the Trust's launch of the campaign.
Staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) have pledged their support to a campaign aimed at improving the patient experience.
The ‘Hello, my name is...’ campaign is an international movement created by the late Dr Kate Granger MBE, a registrar in elderly medicine who developed terminal cancer at the age of 29.
Becoming frustrated with the number of staff who failed to introduce themselves to her when she was an inpatient with post-operative sepsis, Kate began a social media initiative in August 2013 in a bid to encourage and remind healthcare staff about the importance of introductions in healthcare. Since her death in 2016, over 400,000 health workers from across the world have backed Kate’s initiative for more personalised care.
Now, staff across all WWL services will wear a badge, which prominently displays their first name and job title with the aim to improve communication between patients and members of staff.
Rabina Tindale, WWL's Chief Nurse, said: “A confident introduction is the first step to providing compassionate care and is often all it takes to put a patient at ease and help them feel relaxed when using our services. I firmly believe that this campaign, and our approach, will not only improve the delivery of care to our patients but also contribute to helping us develop compassionate and kind interactions with each other, strengthening our relationships across our teams.
“It has been an honour to welcome Chris to WWL and a real privilege to hear about the work he continues to do in Kate’s memory.”
WWL staff members with Chris Pointon following his 'Hello, My Name Is...' campaign presentation in the Lecture Theatre at WWL's Education Centre on Tuesday 26th July 2022.
To celebrate the launch of the campaign across the Trust, Chris Pointon, the co-founder of the campaign and husband of the Kate, gave a presentation to staff at the Trust’s Medical Education Centre.
He said: “I wanted to send a big thank you to you, all the staff at WWL, for being so welcoming during my visit to the Trust. It has been almost ten years since we launched the ‘Hello…My Name Is’ campaign and it really has shown that you can make a difference to people’s lives with just four little words.”
He continued: “The campaign is all about human interaction between two people and about putting the patient at the heart of all decisions made around their healthcare. Communication really is key, the little things do really matter and seeing the individual as a person, not just as a condition, is just as important as it has ever been.”
Emma Rogers, Associate Chief Nurse; Quality & Patient Experience, added: “A simple introduction is the first rung in the ladder to providing truly person-centred care. The core values of the ‘Hello, my name is….’ campaign really do help to improve compassionate care and promote a better patient experience, seeing the person behind the patient and a focus on those little things that really do matter.”
Teams across all WWL sites and community settings have been celebrating the campaign on social media - you can keep up-to-date on all the activities being carried out by WWL staff via a dedicated Twitter Moment here.
?? Following the launch of #HelloMyNameIs at WWL today, here's a handy way to follow all the activities happening this week ?https://t.co/YAduimP3nM
— WWL NHS (@WWLNHS) July 25, 2022