It was a joy to host a round table brain storming session with Southampton General’s Patient Experience team this past week. From planning and implementing the fundamentals of care throughout the hospital trust as a whole, awareness training for nursing staff and house-keeping alike, overseeing PALS and patient complaints, and managing the Patient Hub and it’s eager band of volunteers, amongst other things, to say they have fingers in many pies is an understatement.
With sight loss firmly in the forefront of all our minds, it was with improving the experience of visually impaired patients across the hospital, along with awareness in general, that the meeting took place. Jenny, Blue, Carrie and Ali were suitably impressed by the work Southampton Sight has done implementing the Sight Loss Nurse Advisor program within the eye unit, a joint initiative between us and the NHS, and expressed their desire to roll out the program across the hospital in all wards and departments. Feeding into their pre-existing plans, all were very keen to implement a hospital-wide system of identifying those in-patients with sensory loss to help mitigate the all too familiar misunderstandings and unintended neglect which a lack of awareness brings.
Not only were they both receptive and empathetic to the stories and issues presented, their determination and passion to improve the patient experience on all levels led a commitment of further partnership between us. Sight awareness training, consultation on ongoing and future projects across the board, as well as a dedicated space and appointment slot within their upcoming hub, conveniently positioned next to the eye unit, which will allow Southampton Sight to have a consistent and direct presence in the very heart of the hospital, were committed to by all parties.
The session ended with some sighted guidance from the Southampton City Council’s Sensory Services team who, themselves, co-locate from our premises, alongside a tour of our resource centre housing all the gizmos and gadgets available for the visually impaired. I can not thank the Patient Experience enough for their time, empathy and commitment to improving and building upon all aspects of patient care. We look forward to working closely with you all over the coming months and years.
