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Small is beautiful
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  1. Lucinda Stubbs
  1. St. Michael's Hospice (North Hampshire), Basingstoke, UK

Abstract

Something's it's the small things….

In Summer 2010 we picked up an great idea from the NCPC for ‘Small is Beautiful’ aimed to get patient and carer feedback on what small things make a difference to them. Not only did the team at St. Michael's Hospice think this was a fantastic idea but it also fitted nicely with our commitment to using feedback to guide service development and improve the way in which we work.

While we felt it was important to know what our patients and families thought of the Hospice we also used it as an opportunity for staff and volunteers to feedback their thoughts.

Some of our patient comments:

  • Feeling cared for.

  • A home from home.

  • Thank you for the cake, it was yummy!

  • Treating each other as special.

  • Being offered some lunch during a long visit, thank you so very much.

  • Thanks for the comfortable sofas!

With regards to staff and volunteer feedback we have implemented many new initiatives including a rolling educational programme, a monthly staff bulletin, more social events and most importantly improved the quality of our tea bags!

We ran the campaign for 6 weeks and produced Boards which were displayed in patient areas, the Hospice staff room and our seven Hospice shops. People could put their comments on the board.

It was an interesting exercise for us all and provided us with a better understanding of what is important to our visitors and staff and allowed us to make some simple but necessary changes to the way in which we work. We hope to continue building on this in the future and plan to run the Small is Beautiful campaign again in April 2011 where no doubt we will receive some more interesting comments.

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