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Intensive Care Unit achieves Customer Service Excellence standard

22 March 2011

Congratulations to staff on the Intensive Care Unit who have successfully applied for a Customer Service Excellence standard.

Congratulations to staff on the Intensive Care Unit who have successfully applied for a Customer Service Excellence standard.

Jane-Marie Hamill, Clinical Nurse Lead on the unit where staff look after the most seriously ill patients in the hospital, says: “This award recognises the compassion, dedication and hard work that all staff show every day to ensure that patients and their relatives are getting the best care.

“I am personally extremely proud to be part of a unit where the patient comes first. We believe that going through the process of applying for a Customer Service Excellence standard was invaluable as it not only enables us to celebrate what we do well but also identifies what we need to improve on.”

Since 1998 the Intensive Care Unit applied for, achieved and retained the Charter Mark which was a Government recognised award for customer service.

Last year the Charter Mark was reviewed and changed to the Customer Service Excellence standard which assesses the performance of public services in making changes and improvements driven by customers, patients or service users in areas that are important to them.

The five criteria against which the Intensive Care Unit was tested during a two-day visit by an assessor in March included customer insight, culture of the organisation, information and access, delivery and timeliness, and quality of service.

The unit produced a portfolio of evidence measured against each of the five criteria and then during his visit in March the assessor interviewed patients, relatives and staff to check that what was written on paper in the portfolio was reflected in practice.

The assessor identified strengths of the Intensive Care Unit including:

  • A holistic approach to patient care by considering all the factors which could improve care
  • A multi-disciplinary approach to making suggestions and taking decisions rather than a ‘top down fait accompli’ approach
  • The determination, professionalism and loyalty to the unit of staff who are are proud of their work and clearly put patients and their relatives first
  • Focus groups that enable ex-patients and relatives to talk about their experiences on the unit - these groups help identify many improvements

Areas for development identified by the assessor included:

  • Developing a more user-friendly philosophy of care by agreeing five or six key statements and displaying these at the entrance to the unit
  • While adhering to the Trustwide approach to handling complaints, staff should try where possible to take greater ownership so that aspects of timeliness, promises and protocols are adhered to
  • Celebrating and promoting success and performance through the unit’s newly revamped section of the Trust website