Using feedback to improve our services

A feedback service designed to help patient-facing staff learn more about the diagnosis, treatment and recovery of their patients is set to roll out across EEAST.

The PHEM (Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine) initiative will launch in Harlow Hospital from Thursday (13 January) with Watford and Colchester following soon after. It will roll out to the remainder of the Trust during 2022/23.

The project gives frontline clinicians the chance to request feedback from hospital colleagues, such as details of a patient’s diagnosis or treatment. The aim is to help to further upskill staff, improve their understanding and provide an opportunity to learn lessons wherever appropriate.

Clinicians can make a request for information by scanning a QR code in the hospital ED and filling in a form which gives details of their learning objectives. The request must meet specific criteria, which are:

• the call had a significant emotional impact on the member of staff
• the patient was critically unwell
• there was uncertainty over the diagnosis

The request will then be picked up by a specially-trained EEAST facilitator, who will request anonymised information from the hospital before discussing the findings with the member of staff who made the original request.

The facilitator will also identify any themes or trends arising from the PHEM requests to see whether any additional training may be needed.

The initiative is being introduced following a successful pilot, which was well-received by staff who appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the impact of the care they provided.

Published 11th January 2022