Experience of Care Week 28 April- 2 May

Activity Co-ordinators

Jen Bircher – Activity Co-ordinator

Jen works as an Activity Co-ordinator on Gallery Ward 1 and 2. This role helps to enhance the experience of our patients by engaging them in tasks and activities to help beat the boredom of looking at the same four walls. This in turn may help to reduce the calls to the our V&A Team, and help keep our enhanced care patients safe, along with aiding their recovery and discharge. Some patients can be reluctant to undertake therapy sessions, but after spending time with Jen they happily engage. Jen wants to make a patients stay in hospital more pleasant with laughter and smiles along the way. Where appropriate, taking patients out in the fresh air can make a massive difference to a patient's mood and wellbeing. This role is a fantastic addition to ensuring our patients receive the best experience whilst in our care.

Young Influencers

Our Young Influencers get involved in many projects to help benefit our patients and staff. They are keen fundraisers, and last week ran an event as part of the Hospital Charity's Lions at Large fundraising appeal for new cancer facilities. Despite the blowing winds, the day went really well with 11 Young Influencers and 25 members of staff taking part in the relay around Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. A total of £862.64 was raised, just by this event alone. Our Young Influencers make such a difference and are willing to help wherever they can to enhance the experience of our patients and staff at the Trust.

Treasure Seekers

Recognising that the fast-paced environment of the Emergency Department can be especially distressing for people with complex needs, our team has been working to make the experience more compassionate, consistent, and calming. From trauma-informed staff training to de-escalating situations, we’re making small but important changes to help patients feel safer, better understood, and more supported. This project has been shaped by staff ideas, patient feedback, and close collaboration with community partners.

Patient Led Assessments in the Care Environment (PLACE)

In October we held Patient Led Assessments in the Care Environment (PLACE), and the patients who assisted with these assessments commented on the uninviting seating area that was situated outside the Edward Jenner Unit. This is where patients wait for the Phlebotomy Team. Thanks to the Charities support we have been able to install this fixed seating which has already received a lot of compliments. Ten new seats outside the Day Case Unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital have also been installed. This has doubled the amount that was previously available, and will ensure our patients, relatives and carers can wait in comfort.

Part of the criteria for PLACE is related to our sites' physical accessibility and dementia friendliness. PLACE considers trust environments, such as ED, external, internal, communal, inpatient wards, outpatient departments, and areas chosen from our feedback routes, both positive and negative.

Some of our experts became PLACE assessors and participated in this audit to help record feedback. Our trust's results will be benchmarked against all other organisations that participated in the audit.

Our panel discussed the new oncology building with the architects. Based on their valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement, the plans for the build have changed, which will increase the overall experience of service users.

15 Steps Challenge and Accessibility Map

15 Steps Challenge

A 15-step challenge involves experts who have experience walking through an environment and discussing its accessibility. The recommendations and feedback are given to the person responsible for that environment, and suggestions are made for the area. After an agreed timeframe, experts will return to the environment to see if their recommendations were implemented.

Our experts have done some work in the Maternity and Neonatal units, Orchard Centre, Emergency Department and the Acute Medical Unit.

Accessibility Map

The Accessibility Panel played an instrumental part in producing the Trust Accessibility Map. This map is to help all service users navigate around both sites. Only the GRH one is currently available, but plans are to extend to CGH.

Their guidance included essential facilities and information that were initially overlooked for GRH.

These include:

• Breastfeeding Rooms
• Quiet rooms/spaces
• Volunteer Desks
• Wheelchair collection points—The usual places to find wheelchairs are outside Porters Lodge and the Volunteers' desks in GRH, and for CGH, outside the oncology building and volunteer desks.
• Wheelchair accessible points, including ramps and their angles
• Mapping our wheelchair accessible toilets, including from which side transfer is possible
• Changing all drawings to photographs
• Contrast of the map and the colours that have been used
• Number of available car parking spaces
• Improved signage to the GP Out of Hours service

Accessibility map

Our volunteers

Reena Azizi

My name is Reena Azizi and I am a midwife from Afghanistan and living in the UK. I am delighted to share a few words about my experience. Volunteering with the Voluntary Services Team has been an incredibly rewarding journey. From the very beginning, I was welcomed into a warm, inclusive, and supportive environment, where I had the opportunity to meet so many kind and inspiring people—both staff and fellow volunteers. Being part of this community has helped me grow in confidence, develop valuable skills, and most importantly, given me the chance to support others and make a positive impact. Participating in the Volunteering to Career programme has opened new doors for me and encouraged me to continue moving forward with purpose and passion. I am truly grateful to be part of such a wonderful team and a meaningful journey.

Phoebe Hoyles

I started volunteering at the pharmacy as I was interested in this field. Volunteering has given me a great insight to how the department works and what a vital role it plays within the hospital. I've found it really fascinating and soon realised it was a department I would like to work within. The team were very welcoming and are always grateful for the help I provide. With the support of the pharmacy team I was able to apply for a paid role when it became available and I am happy to say I was successful. I will hopefully be starting this role in the near future. I am really grateful to have been able to volunteer first and would encourage others to do the same.

Jacob Moss

My time as a volunteer has been one of the most rewarding and enlightening things I have ever experienced. I am always impressed by the sheer level of dedication to patient care, and working alongside such driven individuals has taught me so much about myself and my own values.

I can't thank the Voluntary Services team enough for helping me take my first steps on to the wards and facilitating a placement within Pathology through the Volunteer to Career programme. The skills I've learned, and everyone I've met, have been invaluable to me and I owe my university placement to begin studying Nursing later this year to them!

Your chance to say thank you

Over the last year staff from Patient Experience have been working on a Quality Improvement Project to help encourage positive feedback throughout the Trust. This has been hugely successful and is now part of the Trust’s rewards and recognition framework, and our staff awards.

You may have seen ‘Your chance to say Thank You’ posters being introduced into areas across site, each with a QR code attached. Those scanning this code, will be taken to a webpage where a few positive comments for staff can be left. The hope is that this project will provide a platform for small gestures as well as big thank you’s to be identified and celebrated. If you would like to know more, or would like a poster in your area, please contact ghn-tr.yourchancetosaythankyou@nhs.net

Here are a few we have received below:

"The care I received in 5b was outstanding. My wife, who stayed with me through the night was given great consideration as well. All the staff are a real credit to the hospital. Thank you all so much.”

"I just want to say a massive thanks to everyone that helped care for me after my mountain bike crash. You were all brilliant and I couldn't have hoped for a more considerate, helpful team looking after me. You do an amazing job 5B/SAU. Thanks again!"

"Huge thanks to Karen who looked after me with such kindness, understanding and humour on Mayhill. I was absolutely terrified of my operation and she put me at ease. First class HCA. Thank you."

"I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to Mr Thomas Walker and the whole of the surgical, anaesthetic and nursing team for the skill, care and attention shown before, during and after my procedure. The thoroughness and attention shown me by all was truly outstanding and I shall remain eternally grateful."

“Just wanted to thank you to all the staff on the Mayhill Unit. I came in for a wisdom tooth removal and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone, you were all so attentive to myself and other patients around me. We are very lucky to have you.”

Carers' Charter

The Trust has created a carers' charter to show how we can work together as partners in delivering exceptional patient care.

This runs alongside initiatives like the carers' passports and boxes that have been designed to offer tailored support and information to carers.

The charter outlines what carers can expect from us and how they can support us. Aligned to our Trust values, the carers' charter formally launched in February.

Becky Fell, Patient and Carer Experience Improvement Manager said:

"The Carers' Charter is an opportunity to recognise the valuable role of carers and how as a Trust we can best support them. We are working in partnership with Gloucestershire Carers Hub to offer tailored support to unpaid carers in our community."