Dignity in Care Award 2009 - Regional Winner - Eastern Region

The 2009 Health and Social Care Award for Dignity in Care - Eastern region award went to:

Visual Communication Alerts Project

Sarah Higson (Patient and Public Involvement) and Lisa Parrish (Head Matron) at Ipswich Hospital introduced a simple but highly effective visual alerts scheme, enabling staff to identify and help patients who may have trouble communicating.

Following consultations with user groups at the Hospital in spring 2007, Sarah and Lisa identified the need for a way to identify patients with communication difficulties, particularly those with sight and hearing impairments. The idea of some kind of signage to be placed at the bedside was developed to enable staff to quickly and easily be aware of disabilities or impairments and the subsequent needs.

The team held discussions with patients, visitor representatives and hospital departments in order to identify patients' needs, and to develop appropriate symbols. As well as sight and hearing impairment, difficulties highlighted included 'at risk of falling', 'dementia/memory problems' and 'interpreter needed'. Symbols were produced on small, subtle magnets which could be fixed next to the patient's notes at the end of the bed and a leaflet and guidelines were developed to help patients, family and staff adopt the system.

Ward staff discussed with patients which symbols were most appropriate and only used them with the patients consent. Patients and their visitors have been strong advocates of the new alerts system feeding back to staff that they give reassurance and prevent embarrassment they may feel having to raise problems with staff. The symbols have saved staff time in handovers and enabled them to tailor the care the patients receive to their own specific needs and deliver a service which is flexible and personal.

The scheme is so simple and effective that it was widely used and has received much interest from other acute hospitals across the country interested in starting up similar projects. New symbols can easily be introduced, allowing the system to grow and develop in the future.

The two runners up were:

The Dignity and Respect Action Group

The Dignity and Respect Action Group at Southend University Hospital brings together staff, patients and volunteers to share stories and take forward plans to improve the experience of patients.

The group was set up by tutors from the Hospital and Anglia Ruskin University along with staff who received a specially designed dignity and respect training. They discovered a shared passion for improving the dignity and respect shown to patients and decided to set aside time, away from their day-to-day clinical duties, to explore and develop their ideas further.

Originally developed for staff, the group quickly decided that to ensure discussions were properly informed and had real impact on patient welfare, it was essential to work in collaboration with the patients themselves.

Since forming in 2004, the group's enthusiastic, positive and proactive approach has led to a pioneering range of innovations in the hospital. The group's work has led to a complete overhaul of the nightwear and gowns used in the hospital, introducing more dignified designs. Other ideas successfully championed include rain-proof covers for wheelchair users when travelling between hospital buildings, the provision of quiet-closing bins in patient areas to cut down noise levels and the introduction of 'Privacy Pegs' for securing bed curtains together to make staff more aware that they are entering a patient's personal space.

The hard work and solution-focused approach of the group has earned the respect and support of senior management and enables continued growth. A website is now being developed to help spread the word and promote its ethos of respect and dignity for all.

The Practice and Innovation Team

The Practice and Innovation Team at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust have led the local Dignity Campaign following the national launch in November 2006. The team started by writing 'Best Practice Standards for Privacy and Dignity' that were later supported by the development of the Trust's "Pledge" to patients and visitors. The Team's innovative approach was to recognise that no single initiative would ensure that all patients were treated with privacy, dignity and respect and that the solutions utilised needed to be as varied as the staff and local population.

They formed a group of Dignity Champions in order to ensure that all patients at the hospital were treated respectfully and that their privacy and dignity needs were met. The Champions recruited these from nursing staff at all levels as well as a radiographer, members of the spiritual and pastoral team and the chair of the Patient's Panel, the group began to meet on a bi-monthly basis to share best practice and offer support to each other in tackling the challenges they face in this role.

A huge range of initiatives have been introduced by the Dignity Champions. These have included customer care training of ward staff to ensure that patients receive a friendly and courteous greeting on arrival, the provision of internal shower curtains, better sign-posting of washrooms and toilets and the introduction of "Please Announce Yourself" curtain signs to remind the care team to respect patients' privacy.

Patient involvement has been at the heart of every initiative introduced and feedback has been collected through hand-held computerised trackers, enabling ongoing patient surveys. Patients and carers were also invited to speak at the Trust's two annual Dignity Conferences, joining inspiring guest experts to speak about local issues and initiatives to improve patient dignity.