Experience of Care Week 23 - 27 April 2018
23/04/2018
This article is more than five years old.
Experience of Care Week puts patients' experience of care in the spotlight, and gives people the opportunity to share and celebrate the work being done to improve their experience of health and care services.
Our patients tell us that they value the opportunity to provide feedback on the services we provide. Our staff aim to really listen to patients, and act on their feedback, which can lead to real change for our patients and their families.
Sometimes we need help to improve our patients' experience, and this is where Oxford Hospitals Charity is often able to make a difference.
For example, our patients were saying that the Churchill Hospital Pharmacy was causing problems for our cancer patients and the staff caring for them.
Dr Andy Peniket, Clinical Director of Haematology, explains: "We became aware that patients attending as outpatients, or for radiotherapy treatment, often had long and multiple appointments on a single visit, and many felt unwell at the end of their stay, especially if they had received treatment.
"It could therefore be an extra burden for patients to walk from the Cancer and Haematology Centre across to the main Churchill Hospital Pharmacy to collect their prescriptions. Also, appointments sometimes ran late in the day, by which time the Pharmacy had closed."
This was not practical for patients traveling long distances, and if clinical staff collected medication for patients it took them away from busy clinical areas.
Funding of £74,000 from Oxford Hospitals Charity allowed the creation of an Outreach Pharmacy, located in the heart of the Cancer Centre.
This practical solution was warmly welcomed by patients and staff alike, and has had a positive impact for a huge number of people every day.
The Pharmacy Outreach now sees around 1,200 oncology and haematology outpatients a month. These are patients who used to have to travel right across the hospital after their appointments, or following several hours of treatment.
We can now save them the stress of that extra journey, and every day patients tell us what a difference it is making to them.
Experience of Care Week will include a series of online activities and events to help promote experience of care: social media is key to bringing the week alive, and we encourage staff, patients and families and carers to join in using the hashtag #ExpofCare
If you would like to give feedback about a recent experience at the Trust, please visit our website to see the options available:
Patient feedback - www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/feedback
Your views are important to us and are used to shape the services we provide.
You can find out more about Oxford Hospitals Charity at www.hospitalcharity.co.uk