ABOUT PWP
- Have you ever sat in a hospital ward and just listened?
What did you hear? Voices? Clatter?
Someone walking by when you were thirsty but too unwell to reach your water or your call bell?
- Have you visited someone in hospital
and not been able to catch the attention of staff to get directions to where your family member or friend is?
- Have you been given printed or verbal directions you cannot interpret?
“Speak to the CNC when you get to the ward.”
Your response may be “the CN what?”
- Have you sat with someone you love more than life itself
but not been included in the conversation being held by strangers at the foot of the bed about that person? Or worse, have you been asked to leave the room so the doctors can do their rounds?
- Have you attended a hospital with a loved one
and when you return from moving the car that person is gone and staff can’t tell you where they have gone?
Understanding the patient experience is pivotal to being able to partner with consumers.
Every day staff come to work in your facility with the best intentions of providing high quality care for the patients. They arrive to an environment they know and understand even if there are times it may cause them frustration. Those staff know where to get a drink of water. They know where they can get food. They know where the toilet is if they need it. They understand the requests made of them by colleagues. They know they will go home at the end of their shift.
Patients may not have that basic knowledge. They are fearful. They may not know where to get a drink of water and even if they can find the water they may not be able to open the little plastic bottle it comes in. They wait for food to arrive. Again they may have difficulty accessing that food due to the packaging. It may be food they cannot eat, ordered by the person who was in that bed prior to them. They may not be able to decipher between all the people who come to see them. Who is the doctor, who is the nurse, who is the pharmacist? The cleaner may be the only obvious role identified.
The above examples have all been told by patients and carers in Australian hospitals. Could this have occurred in the hospital or health facility you work in?
Partnering with consumers ensures an improved, shared understanding between staff, patients, consumers and carers of the health system they are working in or travelling through.
PwP can:
- Provide mentoring for staff who want to work more closely with consumers
- Provide advice on how facilities can meet the
National Safety & Quality Health Service Standard 2
- Work with organisations to incorporate consumers into their governance structures
- Work with staff to help them identify improved work systems.
If you need advice on how to partner with consumers please contact PwP.
