Working towards a safer and more sustainable NHS by innovating cost-effective solutions.
Initiatives & communication
In 2013 the well-known “Hello My Name is” campaign was brought about by Dr Kate Granger who, whilst having medical treatment realised that clinicians were not introducing themselves to her which she felt to be very wrong and this basic step in communication was missing.
Introductions are about making connections between one human being who is suffering and vulnerable and another human being who wishes to help, this connection helps to build the trust and wellbeing of the patient in difficult situations.
The Hello My name is initiative is about more compassionate care and it champions communication by putting patients at the centre of their own care. With names and roles clearly visible, patients are more empowered and can ask the right people the questions they want answered.
Patient-centred care is a much-used phrase; letting them know your role and who you are is a good first step towards making it a reality.
Our Eco Ninja team have successfully developed the perfect solution:
Our new product range will be so much easier to order and will be able to be laundered like scrubs as well as taken home to wash- whatever is best for the department.
We have a tried and tested method of affixing a name badge onto a fabric theatre hat, which can be comfortably worn all day long.
Most staff within hospitals wear their name badges to clearly identify who they are but this isn’t always possible in the operating theatre department.
Over the last 10 years, the importance of staff knowing names and introducing themselves to patients has heightened significantly and in 2018, name and role theatre hats came about by staff simply writing their names onto their disposable hats with marker pens. This quickly evolved into embroidered/printed reusable theatre hats combining the benefits of improving communication with a more sustainable alternative to throw away disposable Hats.
Personalised theatre hats are doing an amazing job for communication purposes for both staff and patients, however, due to various limitations, the bespoke garments are challenging for theatre departments to implement. After understanding all the complexities, we set out on a journey to develop a better way to personalise a theatre hat and we have innovated and designed a new product.
The theatre cap challenge is a campaign promoting the idea of writing the name and job title onto the clinician's theatre hat to improve recognition, team communication and personalisation of care within the theatre setting.
Many of the trusts we have helped to switch to named, reusable hats have been inspired by the theatre cap challenge and this has been invaluable in helping hospitals to make this important change.
Patient Safety Network
This is global online community for sharing ideas and discussing best practice about patient safety from around the world.
“Medical errors in hospitals are the third leading cause of death in the United States, just behind heart disease and cancer. Globally it is believed that medical errors kill more people than HIV, Malaria, and Tuberculosis, combined”.
Patient Safety Movement, November 2020