The founder of a national social media campaign that has taken the NHS by storm visited The Countess on Monday to talk about what makes the campaign so important.
Dr Kate Granger, an Acting Consultant in Medicine for Older People in Wakefield is also a terminally ill cancer patient, diagnosed with a rare form of metastatic sarcoma in summer 2011. It was during this time that the idea for the campaign was born.
Kate said: “I started the campaign when I became frustrated by the number of hospital staff who failed to introduce themselves to me when I was an inpatient. As a doctor it felt very wrong that this basic step in communication and compassion was missing. So supported by my husband I vowed to try and bring about a lasting positive change.”
Her idea was a simple one; to use social media primarily to remind, encourage and inspire healthcare staff to introduce themselves to their patients. “I firmly believe a friendly introduction is about far more than just common courtesy but rather human connections, therapeutic relationships and building trust with patients.”
The campaign soon gathered incredible momentum and Kate, who has since been awarded an MBE for her services to the NHS and improving care was overwhelmed with the support from organisations like The Countess.
Deputy Director of Nursing, Sian Williams explains why the campaign has been adopted at the Chester and Ellesmere Port hospitals: “The Hello My Name Is campaign really struck a chord with us here at The Countess. The principles of the campaign, making a connection between patients and staff and building trust are ones that we hold dear. Yes, we are all under pressure and there is always another job that needs to be done but by taking the time to introduce ourselves properly we begin to build that valuable bond that so reassures patients and makes them feel safe in our care.”
Sian added: “We were so pleased to welcome Kate here today. She is an inspiration to NHS colleagues and we are delighted to have the chance to thank her for raising awareness of such simple but important values.”
Kate has been accompanied by her husband Chris Pointon, on her tour of 16 healthcare organisations and has covered over 1600 miles throughout England, Wales and Scotland to meet NHS staff.
To demonstrate The Countess’ commitment to the campaign, Kate kindly launched our rollout of ‘Hello My Name Is’ phone stickers reminding staff that the principle of introducing yourself applies across all forms of communication.
To say a special thank you, Chester Zoo kindly provided Kate and her husband with tickets to the zoo which went down a storm as Chris is already the sponsor of one of the zoo’s elephants. Kate also received a hamper of regional produce from Claremont Farm which was compiled from Kate’s own blog about what she loves about life. Asparagus and strawberries being a particular favourite! And the icing on the cake, literally, was a ‘Hello My Name Is’ cake baked by The Countess’ Head Chef and pastry expert Sue Miller.
Kate added finally: “To keep up the momentum Chris and I decided it was important that more NHS staff were able to hear my story in person, so we came up with the grand plan to go on tour. It is very exciting to be able to meet people from all over the country and spread the #hellomynameis message further. It will be an incredibly tiring but I hope productive week and I’m extremely grateful to Chris for his immense logistics skills to keep me on track!”
To find out more visit www.hellomynameis.org.uk or follow #hellomynameis @GrangerKate on Twitter.