New programme aims to identify what matters most to patients

New programme aims to identify what matters most to patients Always Events pilot projects see healthcare staff working with patients and their families to improve the quality of care

For patients, details that might seem minor to health professionals can make a powerful difference – and shape how they view their care. Details such as ensuring the translator booked to help a patient communicate with a hospital consultant speaks the correct dialect; or checking that a patient with a learning disability has the name and a picture of the person in charge of their care when they transfer between one health setting and another.

This is latter example is one of the standards – or so-called Always Events – introduced by Lancashire Care NHS trust. It’s one of three pilot sites in NHS England’s Always Events programme– being run with the international patient-focused health charity Picker Institute and the Institute for Health Innovation (IHI) – aiming to put the patient firmly at the centre of care decisions. Continue reading... The Guardian