>>Tommy Whitelaw: Are you from Shorelands?
>>Patient: Yes…
>>Stacey McCann: We’re really pleased to be working with Tommy Whitelaw from the Dementia
Carer Voices campaign. We want to link the Leading Change Adding Value framework for
nursing, midwifery and care staff to the fantastic work that Tommy’s done collecting thousands
of pledges from frontline staff. We know that Leading Change Adding Value framework can
support nursing, midwifery and care staff to turn those good intentions into actions.
>>Stacey McCann: Hello Tommy, can you tell why staff come to talk to you about what matters to them?
>>Tommy Whitelaw: They’re being given an opportunity to share a story and to tell a
personal story and the stories that people have shared with us as part of our work in
our campaign. And I think that that allows people a bit of honesty and openness and permission
to share their stories.
I’ve left some cards on the tables and it’s got a couple of questions on it. And what
I’d like you to think about when I’m speaking today is why do you do this remarkable thing
that you do?
>>Stacey McCann: And what about the pledges you have collected
because you’ve done some fantastic work and collected thousands of pledges. What made
you start collecting those pledges?
>>Tommy Whitelaw: A couple of things actually from starting
the talks which have kind of evolved. People would get in touch after it and tell me how
they felt and what they might like to do. But also people would also share that they
felt it was the first time that they felt able to speak about the job that they did
and how they would like to do it or how they do it and actually celebrate what they do.
We often walk through these incredible buildings that are busy and they’re full of people
getting up and doing so many different amazing roles that allow and support the good care
to happen. But often in those environments we don’t get to meet the remarkable people
who are doing all those different jobs. But their work and the things that they do have
resulted in that good experience and good care. So the pledge trees were a way of telling
a story that no matter what your role is you have the potential and the opportunity to
transform people’s lives and experiences. Then you start reading them and you think
but I have a duty now and that brings the next question, well people have to be supported
in order to do that, they have to have a starting point. I have in this framework now it’s
a really important base.
>>Stacey McCann: So whatever their role or wherever they work
they can improve outcomes and experiences for patients.
>>Tommy Whitelaw: Absolutely and I think that goes back to having
that foundation because the framework brings many aspects to it, it’s a place to work
from but it’s also a place to work towards.
>>Stacey McCann: I suppose it links into the commitments, doesn’t it? So the pledges
could be part of the commitments, if you think about commitment 6 and what matters to you,
what matters to the staff and patients that’s where your work links in here.
>>Tommy Whitelaw: Everything is based on and wrapped around and founded on what matters
to you. And I’m really glad to see that there’s a commitment 6 in there to ask staff
what matters to them and actually surrounding that by who matters to you. I think they create
a new conversation and a different relationship. That’s the base point we have to start with,
we have to find out what matters to staff in order to make that conversation have longevity
to it.
>>Stacey McCann: So if you were going to give a message to nursing, midwifery and care staff
about Leading Change Adding Value what would you tell them?
>>Tommy Whitelaw: I would absolutely tell them it’s about them and it’s for them.
It’s there to support them, it’s there to guide them and if we’re all working towards
the same outcomes and from these same positons we’ll feel better supported, we’ll feel
encouraged, we’ll feel able to be that leader every day.
Pledge 1 My pledge is find out about the individuals
I care for and find out what matters to them. This way I can always provide person centred
care.
Pledge 2. Hello, my name’s Jo and my pledge is to promote what matters to you to the patients,
to carers and to staff as well.
Every person that walks through that door has an opportunity to lead change and add
value. It was kind of a missing link of what do you do with the pledges and how do you
support the incredible people who need them. But it’s bigger than pledges, that’s the
part we play in it. It’s for every single person who has made that incredible and remarkable
and brave and beautiful decision that they are going to dedicate their lives to caring
for others and we should be doing everything we can to make that achievable. And allow
them to be the new and the next and the best and the greatest leaders.