10 years of Changes on Care Opinion
Julie Aicha
Equality and Diversity Lead
I was asked to write a blog for our Trust’s 10th anniversary of using Care Opinion (CO) or Patient Opinion as it was previously called and which I still have a tendency to revert to! Initially I was stumped as to where to start or what to write, so I thought I would look back at the postings for the Trust and particularly the area in which I work, Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP). Jane Danforth, our Trust CO Lead had given me a few handy hints and tips but writing a blog is a whole new experience for me!
As I looked back over the postings and their responses, it made me rethink how important our feedback is and the way in which we respond to it. I’m proud that I work for a Trust which is very open to receiving feedback on a national website, whether that be positive or negative, and we learn from and improve our services through both. Our postings are seen and read by staff members at all levels and the Teams and Inpatient areas are able to respond, ensuring that we can take action on feedback locally.
Over the years, we’ve used different ways in MHSOP to enable the people in our services to share their stories on Care Opinion and that includes giving out Care Opinion leaflets so that several options are offered as well as leaving stories online. Not everyone knows you can ring Care Opinion on Freephone 0800 122 3135 to leave your story or it can be hand written and posted free of charge to Freepost Care Opinion . Staff have helped individuals to post their comments online when asked and most recently Jane and one of our Involvement Volunteers, Gordon, went onto Cherry Ward at Highbury Hospital to listen to patients to help them to share their stories.
As I read back over feedback posted and the many responses, I was struck again by a recent change that has made an impact on peoples’ lives for people staying on our wards.
“Haircuts!” identified how long a patient had to wait for a haircut and that there was no hairdresser despite having a lovely salon on site. Changes were then made and a hairdressing service will now be available. That’s just one comment made that potentially affects a large number of people positively. And for me, that’s the power of Care Opinion!
Julie Aicha – Equality and Diversity Lead
http://www.careopinion.org.uk/
