My year as a Florence Nightingale Scholar has been a fantastic experience, I have met really interesting people and been able to visit places I never thought possible. I have been able to build up an excellent support network through my fellow scholars who have always been helpful when trying to source information on one thing or another. During this period I have come to understand that nothing happens by accident and that if you want to have a quality service then you have to have an explicit plan; define what it is, how is it delivered and why it is important, there is a requirement to be ‘intentional’ in everything that we do.
During my year as a scholar I have been able to undertake the Westminster Experience and spend a number of days at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) (RADA) and undertake the Leading to Inspire programme at Cranfield University. These experiences were great fun and the learning was eye opening. First impressions count and it is important to be very aware of how you speak, stand and move as the non verbal’s you give off can serve to either enhance or undermine your content and even your credibility as a leader.
I visited the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI) in Boston en route to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where I undertook a Patient Experience Programme. Cleveland focuses primarily on their processes, their people and their patients to deliver an exceptional experience. IHI introduced me to their White Paper on Patient Experience and I found it to be extremely helpful in enhancing mu understanding of ‘experience’. Cleveland call all their staff ‘caregivers’ as every member of staff must understand that they are the foundation of all care delivery no matter what their role is in the organisation. Their vision is simple ‘Patients First’. Cleveland is similar to Disney’s approach to experience which is that no matter what the process is, you must be ‘intentional’, they also focus on their people and expect everyone, no matter their role to be a leader. I was very fortunate to attend a ‘Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence’ conference during the scholarship.
My project has been to develop a Patient and Client Experience Framework to build that ‘intention’ of delivering and exceptional experience throughout the region. Every organisation needs a vision or a framework as without this sort of roadmap you will not get to where you wish to go. Disney believes that a vision is an essential foundation of common purpose and architected to ensure exceptional service delivery across all key touch points. I am now at the stage of pulling all my learning together to produce a Patient and Client Experience Framework. The Framework will focus on Our People (staff), Our Processes and Our Patients and Clients ensuring they are our first concern. The Framework will have a focus on partnering and co-design with patients and clients to ensure they are educated, engaged and activated to improve their own health and wellbeing and it will signal a new era with a significant move away from the current paternalistic model. The Framework will ensure a cohesive and regionally consistent approach to patient and client experience to enable a regional view of what the patient and client experience is, it is hoped that all organisation will learn from those doing well and bring all up to the highest standard.