Intensive Care Unit wins a Charter Mark—for the fourth time!

Staff on the Intensive Care Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital have been awarded a prestigious Charter Mark for the fourth time.

ICU was first awarded a Charter Mark—a national award for excellence given by the government to public sector or voluntary organisations—in 1998 and it has now been renewed three times in 2001, 2004 and 2007.

Elaine Manderson, Clinical Nurse Specialist—Intensive Care, says: “Jane-Marie Hamill, our Clinical Nurse Lead, and I would like to thank staff from ICU and lots of other wards and departments around the Trust for their participation in our Charter Mark assessment.

“Our assessor, Trevor James, was very impressed by our application and the support that Trust staff added to it, and I am delighted that we have been successfully awarded the Charter Mark for another three years.“

Jane-Marie Hamill, Clinical Nurse Lead, explains: “The emphasis of the Charter Mark is very much evidence of continuous service improvement, focused around the needs of patients and their families.

“We are proud to have had Charter Mark status since 1998 which means that our staff have demonstrated that we have continually improved the service that we provide to our patients over that time.”

ICU’s application for the renewal of their Charter Mark included a pre-assessment visit, the development of a wide-ranging portfolio of evidence and the assessment visit itself in November 2007.

Charter Mark assessor Trevor James was particularly impressed by areas including:

• New ICU section of the Trust website
• Orientation programme for new and agency staff which has been shared as good practice with other departments around the hospital
• Use of volunteers on ICU including a volunteer who runs user satisfaction surveys

Jane-Marie Hamill says: “We would encourage other departments to try for a Charter Mark. If you provide a good service to your patients and their relatives, why not get some external recognition for your achievements?

“If you are interested, please contact either Elaine Manderson or me or see www.chartermark.gov.uk to find out more about the Charter Mark scheme.”

• The ICU pages on the Trust website can be accessed here.

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