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| New programme aims to identify what matters most to patients | New programme aims to identify what matters most to patients |
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| For patients, details that might seem minor to health professionals can make a powerful difference – and shape how they view their care. Details such as ensuring the translator booked to help a patient communicate with a hospital consultant speaks the correct dialect; or checking that a patient with a learning disability has the name and a picture of the person in charge of their care when they transfer between one health setting and another. | For patients, details that might seem minor to health professionals can make a powerful difference – and shape how they view their care. Details such as ensuring the translator booked to help a patient communicate with a hospital consultant speaks the correct dialect; or checking that a patient with a learning disability has the name and a picture of the person in charge of their care when they transfer between one health setting and another. |
| This is latter example is one of the standards – or so-called Always Events – introduced by Lancashire Care NHS trust. It’s one of three pilot sites in NHS England’s Always Events programme – being run with the international patient-focused health charity Picker Institute and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) – aiming to put the patient firmly at the centre of care decisions. | |
| “In the learning disability unit at Lancashire Care, we were looking for a way of really putting the patient and their family first,” explains Lancashire Care’s head of quality and improvement, Helen Lee. “The Always Events programme is a way of actually doing it.” Only months into the project, she can see the difference it has made when she visits Blackburn for drop-in and chat sessions, where many people with learning disabilities are now encouraged to give their views. | “In the learning disability unit at Lancashire Care, we were looking for a way of really putting the patient and their family first,” explains Lancashire Care’s head of quality and improvement, Helen Lee. “The Always Events programme is a way of actually doing it.” Only months into the project, she can see the difference it has made when she visits Blackburn for drop-in and chat sessions, where many people with learning disabilities are now encouraged to give their views. |
| Cynics may dismiss the Always Events programme as a mere rebranding of the patient experience concept, but some healthcare professionals are viewing it as a tool that could turn chat into a reality. | Cynics may dismiss the Always Events programme as a mere rebranding of the patient experience concept, but some healthcare professionals are viewing it as a tool that could turn chat into a reality. |
| Related: Do the latest wave of health apps really improve patient care? | Related: Do the latest wave of health apps really improve patient care? |
| And one that is much needed, as, for the past 12 years, the National Patient Experience survey has produced data indicating that although the practical experience of care for most is reasonably good, consistently, human relationships and communication fall short. This, according to Philip Stylanides, director of commercial strategy, marketing and communications at the Picker Institute, is the motivation for the Always Events programme. | And one that is much needed, as, for the past 12 years, the National Patient Experience survey has produced data indicating that although the practical experience of care for most is reasonably good, consistently, human relationships and communication fall short. This, according to Philip Stylanides, director of commercial strategy, marketing and communications at the Picker Institute, is the motivation for the Always Events programme. |
| Always Events, according to the Picker Institute, are an organising principle defined as “those aspects of the patient and family experience that should always occur when patients interact with healthcare professionals and the delivery system”. The key concept is co-design – patients, carers and staff engaging in true communication to establish the care that’s both wanted and needed. | Always Events, according to the Picker Institute, are an organising principle defined as “those aspects of the patient and family experience that should always occur when patients interact with healthcare professionals and the delivery system”. The key concept is co-design – patients, carers and staff engaging in true communication to establish the care that’s both wanted and needed. |
| Lancashire Care is the most advanced on the Always Events programme, one of the first trusts to take part in the pilot. Its learning disability team has embraced the concept, focusing on two areas: supporting people moving from one area of care to another and helping staff to communicate more effectively with learning disabled people. The learning from this and other pilots will feed into an NHS-wide toolkit due by April 2016. | Lancashire Care is the most advanced on the Always Events programme, one of the first trusts to take part in the pilot. Its learning disability team has embraced the concept, focusing on two areas: supporting people moving from one area of care to another and helping staff to communicate more effectively with learning disabled people. The learning from this and other pilots will feed into an NHS-wide toolkit due by April 2016. |
| Blackpool teaching hospitals trust is also taking part, focusing on prescriptions and discharge medications, and Kent and Medway community trust (recently judged in need of improvement by the Care Quality Commission) is concentrating on the “Hello my name is ...” campaign instigated by terminally-ill doctor Kate Granger. A further seven pilot sites are soon to be announced. | Blackpool teaching hospitals trust is also taking part, focusing on prescriptions and discharge medications, and Kent and Medway community trust (recently judged in need of improvement by the Care Quality Commission) is concentrating on the “Hello my name is ...” campaign instigated by terminally-ill doctor Kate Granger. A further seven pilot sites are soon to be announced. |
| Related: What makes a GP practice outstanding? | Related: What makes a GP practice outstanding? |
| Paul Jebb, who is leading the Always Events programme nationally, says: “It’s moving away from ‘what’s the matter?’ and more towards ‘what matters to you?’ Over the years we have examined the systems and processes of the NHS to get them right. Now that they are are being perfected, we need to remember that there is a person there underneath. | Paul Jebb, who is leading the Always Events programme nationally, says: “It’s moving away from ‘what’s the matter?’ and more towards ‘what matters to you?’ Over the years we have examined the systems and processes of the NHS to get them right. Now that they are are being perfected, we need to remember that there is a person there underneath. |
| “It’s a mindset and a massive cultural change. It might take up to seven years to embed and roll forward, but it can be done.” | “It’s a mindset and a massive cultural change. It might take up to seven years to embed and roll forward, but it can be done.” |
| Stylianides adds: “Whatever the rhetoric about person-centred care, there were concerns that did not have the support mechanisms to do anything more than just talking about it. The Always Events programme is about getting staff equipped to enquire, allow them to understand what matters and to let them share their findings of how this can be used.” | Stylianides adds: “Whatever the rhetoric about person-centred care, there were concerns that did not have the support mechanisms to do anything more than just talking about it. The Always Events programme is about getting staff equipped to enquire, allow them to understand what matters and to let them share their findings of how this can be used.” |
| The focus is on delivering better quality care, but within current resources. The key to acceptance is not foisting it on organisations, but adapting an approach to specific communities and working environments. Some trusts are creating “how to” lists, others are introducing more interaction with patients via forums and groups. | The focus is on delivering better quality care, but within current resources. The key to acceptance is not foisting it on organisations, but adapting an approach to specific communities and working environments. Some trusts are creating “how to” lists, others are introducing more interaction with patients via forums and groups. |
| It is early days but Lee, is already excited: “I chose to work in healthcare to make a difference and to see that happening, and the energy and buzz that generates, is really satisfying.” | It is early days but Lee, is already excited: “I chose to work in healthcare to make a difference and to see that happening, and the energy and buzz that generates, is really satisfying.” |
| Helen Lee will be talking about the pilot at the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2015 in Manchester, September 2-3. The Guardian Healthcare Network is media partner for the event• This article was amended on 25 August 2015 to correct the name of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. |