Patient Experience Strategy 2021 - 2024

Practical patient experience

• We will listen to feedback and learn from patients' experiences to make improvements
• We will ensure that we utilise different means to engage and support the diversity of our patients
• We will respond to complaints in a timely manner following an open and transparent investigation
• We will increase the use of powerful patient stories to drive improvements and learn from excellence

Patient experience culture

• We will be responsive to the individual needs of patients
• We will ensure all staff are empowered to deliver compassionate care
• We will be approachable, professional, courteous and always kind
• We will strive to provide excellent care to every patient every day with a spirit of warmth, thoughtfulness and personal pride

Supporting carers and families

• We will seek to identify and recognise carers
• We will support and work with carers as our partners in care
• We will recognise and value the impact of carers and families on the well-being and recovery of our patients
• We will acknowledge the impact of caring and work to support the well-being of carers

Community together

• We will work to understand the needs of our diverse communities
• We will welcome our community as volunteers and celebrate their input
• We will engage with our communities and membership, and work in partnership with them
• We will ensure our communication and feedback is representative of our communities
• We will recognise and act to reduce health inequalities

Practical patient experience

• Ensure all systems and processes in place to receive, analyse (investigate) and report on feedback (or complaints) are robust, auditable and insightful, and measure what is important to patients as well as compliance
• Embed different ways to engage and collaborate with our diverse communities
• Increase the use of patient stories, targeted at themes from feedback (including health inequalities) to add context and weight to drive improvement
• Embed a cycle to continuously identify themes and trends for improvement across elements of people, places and processes
• Ensure an infrastructure for reflection and learning from feedback that evidences the impact of the patient voice is in place
• Develop a set of standards to guide staff based on what patients tell us good looks like from their perspective
• Ensure that the patient experience information is available through a number of means and is clear and understandable, as tested by patients (including accessible, user-friendly versions)
• Share more "you said, we did" to demonstrate the value of feedback to patients and families, and encourage more

Patient experience culture

• Introduce divisional patient experience groups for detailed oversight and ownership of the patient experience at a local level
• Undertake cultural measurement and implement actions to ensure that the Trust and its staff are responsive to patients and seek to provide the best experience
• Compare staff experience with patient experience to identify areas requiring support
• Develop and deliver patient experience training and set expectations/standards
• Build upon the good practice of including a patient experience element into interviews (already commenced in senior nursing posts)
• Ensure that all staff take ownership of, and are empowered to deal with, issues raised by patients, but are able to provide information on how to complain if required
• Reduce any fear of feedback so that it is seen as an opportunity
• Embed a culture where the patient journey is made easy for the user by involving patients in its design and listening to their feedback

Supporting carers

• Continue to roll out carer aware training to ensure that all staff are able to recognise, support and signpost carers
• Involve carers in care planning and listen to their expert knowledge, including carers who may not be next of kin
• Develop the Trust’s offer for our partners in care and audit/monitor use of the Partner in Care card
• Update and publicise standards for carers
• Work with partners across the health system to provide a consistent and cohesive service for carers
• Extend carers service to community, young carers and parent carers
• Welcome and listen to families/others important to a patient’s well-being, valuing their experience and history with their loved ones in care delivery

Community together

• Ensure that all sections of our communities can access our services and have the opportunity to be listened to in order to feed back about their experience, including working with external partners
• Develop a patient and public involvement toolkit and training to support staff to involve patients in service improvements/changes
• Increase the membership and representation of our patient, carer and community councils and agree annual work plans
• Measure and monitor that our feedback is representative and put actions in place to address any shortfall, including protected characteristics
• Map out the requirements for volunteering, identify gaps and ensure roles directly improve patient and staff experience. Add new, meaningful and innovative roles as the opportunity arises
• Place volunteers according to their skills, and ensure they are well supported and fully competent to undertake the role
• Continue to work closely with Maternity Voices Partnership
• Maintain our membership levels and replace any churn
• Engage our membership in patient experience and involvement

What will success look like?

• Working with patient partners is the norm and the patient and carer voice informs our service improvements
• Our feedback data reflects communities and provides accessible and actionable insights
• Experience efforts reach more broadly into the issues facing our communities
• We are meeting and exceeding both our targets and patient expectations
• Making dynamic and progressive change in the way we measure/analyse and report experience over time to address issues experienced by our local communities, improving experiences for all and supporting the Trust vision of building healthier lives

How will we oversee this strategy and monitor progress?

• This strategy will be monitored by the Patient Experience Group (PEG), which will oversee its implementation at its monthly meetings
• The PEG will commission any additional task and finish groups deemed necessary for the delivery of this strategy
• PEG reports monthly to Care Quality Group and Board to provide assurance
• The strategy is supported by an operational implementation plan