Alice Williams from the Institute for Innovation and Improvement have developed a toolkit to help trusts gain a better understanding of patient care. They would like young people to get involved in an online consultation session re the draft toolkit. They are offering a £5 phone card as an incentive to young people who take part.
The 15 Steps Challenge
“I can tell what kind of care my daughter is going to get within 15 steps of walking on to a ward”
This is what a mum told us at a workshop last year. She wasn’t a clinician, hadn’t done a safety audit, but she made a vital point – patients, service users and carers know what good care looks and feels like. The comment inspired us at the NHS Institute to develop a toolkit focused on hearing patients voices and opinions much more directly, so that we could help NHS organisations to pass this mum’s “15 Steps Challenge”.
The 15 Steps Challenge is a short, simple toolkit to help trusts gain a better understanding of how patients feel about their care. We worked with patients, carers, staff and board members to develop the toolkit. The first version was aimed at acute hospital settings. We ask a 15 Steps Challenge team, consisting of a patient/carer, a staff member and a board member, to walk onto the ward and take note of their first impressions. Do these build confidence and trust? What is working well and what needs changing?
Now we are developing versions for mental health and community settings and we need your help! After much consultation with service users, we now have a draft version that we are keen to share and get input on. We are going to hold an online consultation session about the draft toolkit on the 21st August from 2-3pm. All you will need to take part is a phone line, a computer and internet connection. If you are interested in taking part in this session, please contact marcia.harvey@youngminds.org.uk by the 3rd August .
