_The big issue
build in robust mechanisms for assessing progress and measuring success,’ she says. ‘The consultation, including the debates held at LSBU in 2015 (see South Bank issue 19), has gone a long way to ensuring that the profession feels a sense of engagement and ownership. That’s a good start.’
Meeting the challenge In the absence of a magic wand, challenges – the most obvious being resources – remain. Those on the front line, though, bring a perhaps surprisingly optimistic perspective. ‘People talk about targets and compassionate care as if they are somehow mutually exclusive,’ says Caroline Spencer (Professional Doctorate in Nursing, 2014), a project nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. ‘That’s not how I see it. The most important thing is to care for patients as if they were part of your family. I believe that treating people the right way can actually save time by avoiding problems arising in the first place. With high quality care, many targets become achievable.’ It’s a view backed by Dr Kate Granger
(see opposite), whose #HelloMyNameIs campaign has done so much to raise awareness of compassionate care. ‘Job satisfaction begins with the patient,’ she says. ‘Positive feedback re-energises people. It makes the job rewarding again.’ It may seem like a simplistic message, but it really does seem that simple human connection lies at the very heart of the matter. As the Mid-Staffs inquiry report puts it, ‘… greater cohesion and unity of culture will not be brought about by further “top down” pronouncements, but by engagement of every single person serving patients in contributing to a safer, committed, compassionate and caring service’.
A new collaborative Health Systems Innovation Lab led by LSBU’s Professor Becky Malby is exploring how the NHS can innovate at scale and pace. Follow Professor Malby on Twitter @BeckyMalby
18_South Bank | Spring 2016
‘ I had a simple message, and a passionate voice’ Consultant geriatrician Dr Kate Granger (Honorary Doctor of Science, 2015) explains how she took the #HelloMyNameIs campaign from a Leeds hospital ward to Google HQ – and beyond
When South Bank calls to speak to Dr Kate Granger, she’s just back from a dream trip to California, and brimming with enthusiasm for the laidback vibe and endless sunshine. But that’s where any similarity with a typical tourist ends. ‘This trip was high on my bucket list,’ says Kate, who was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in 2011, aged just 29. ‘But I’d also been invited to speak at Google HQ – another great opportunity to spread the word about #HelloMyNameIs.’ If ever proof was needed
of the power of social media to change attitudes and behaviour, look no further than this campaign, which started by Kate’s own admission ‘on the back of an envelope’. ‘When I was told that my cancer was terminal, the doctor could barely look at me,’ she recalls. ‘He couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. And he wasn’t the only one. I was ranting to my husband Chris one evening
about how few of the people looking after me actually introduced themselves and he said, “Well, why don’t you do something about it then?” We registered the hashtag the same night.’
Going global Since then, #HelloMyNameIs has had over 1 billion Twitter impressions. More than 400,000 doctors, nurses, therapists, receptionists and porters in 112 organisations in the UK have pledged their support, and the campaign has reached as far as the US and Australia. In summer 2015 Kate and Chris took the campaign on tour, visiting
‘ When I was given the news that my cancer was terminal, the doctor could barely look at me. He couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. And he wasn’t the only one.’
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