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Name Badges

Posted By leopardth93

"Name Badges"

About: Borders General Hospital

(as a relative),

I visited the Borders General Hospital today when I accompanied my sister to an appointment. I was pleasantly surprised to see a large number of staff wearing brightly coloured name badges. This was not just staff in uniform but also staff in plain clothes. I don't know how long staff have been wearing these but my last time here I certainly didn't notice any.

After seeing a poster for Care Opinion, I thought it would be good to post a story saying how good I thought it was to see staff proudly displaying name badges. It makes it much easier for patients and relatives to recognise staff, particularly those not in uniform, and therefore gives the impression that staff are all approachable and able to help if assistance is needed. I can imagine that although most staff always introduce themselves, the doctor my sister saw today certainly did, that it will be good for patients to clearly see their name in case they have not taken in what they have been told.

I also overheard staff discussing their badges who said that we always used to have these so I just wanted to say how good I think it is that you have them again.

Also the friendly "hello my name is" part is a lovely addition to the badges and makes it even more friendly in appearance.

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Responses

Response from Craig White, Divisional Clinical Lead, Directorate of Healthcare Quality and Improvement, Scottish Government 7 years ago
Craig White
Divisional Clinical Lead, Directorate of Healthcare Quality and Improvement,
Scottish Government

Leadership team supporting improvements in quality across health & care services

Submitted on 27/01/2018 at 18:57
Published on Care Opinion on 28/01/2018 at 22:28

picture of Craig White

Thank you for taking the time to feedback.

The late Dr Kate Granger introduced us to this initiative. See https://news.gov.scot/news/boost-for-campaign-to-improve-patient-experience and https://www.hellomynameis.org.uk for more details.

I’ve let Chris, Kate’s Husband, know about your kind feedback. He is continuing Kate’s work through various speaking and awareness raising activities. I’m sure colleagues in NHS Borders will be delighted their work on this had a positive impact.

best wishes,

Craig

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Response from Susan Cowe, Quality Improvement Facilitator - Person Centred Care, NHS Borders 7 years ago
Susan Cowe
Quality Improvement Facilitator - Person Centred Care,
NHS Borders

Submitted on 02/02/2018 at 12:05
Published on Care Opinion at 13:54

Dear leopardth93, I was really pleased to read your lovely comments about your recent visit to the Borders General Hospital.

Feedback we have previously received from patients, carers and relatives tells us that the people we care for and their families do not always know who they are speaking to or the name of the clinician caring for them. Therefore we decided to re-introduce staff name badges which were recently distributed to all our staff. It is great to hear the positive impression these have had as our aim was to ensure all patients, carers and families would immediately be able to identify who is caring for them. We were also very keen to support the late Dr Kate Granger’s ‘Hello My Name is …….’ campaign.

Best wishes

Claire Pearce

Director of Nursing, Midwifery & Acute Services

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Response from Lynn McCallum, Medical Director, NHS Borders 7 years ago
Lynn McCallum
Medical Director,
NHS Borders

Along with the Director of Nursing, we are collectively responsible for the clinical care delivered within NHS Borders.

Submitted on 02/02/2018 at 13:29
Published on Care Opinion at 13:54

picture of Lynn McCallum

Dear leopardth93,

Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us of your recent visit to the BGH and your experience of our new name badges!

As a clinician, I always endeavour to introduce myself whenever speaking to a patient or relative but of course this can be impacted by a variety of factors including sensory loss (such as deafness), confusional state and background noise. Having these new badges (which have been designed in visual impairment friendly colours) back up this introduction and make the roles of all staff immediately clear. This is important not only as a basic courtesy but also in all aspects of patient safety and care!

As part of this process (and as outlined above) we were very keen to include the "Hello my name is..." campaign which was introduced by the late Dr Kate Granger, a Consultant Geriatrician who sadly required a great deal of health care association in the last few years of her life. Her influence as both a clinician and a patient have reached world wide and she has revolutionised the way health care workers introduce themselves to patients and relatives alike!

Many thanks once again for your feedback on our new badges!

With best wishes,

Lynn

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