patients first, is the key value everything has to be centred
around the patient,
everything has to be centred around the public and
in such a big institution it can be difficult,
but they come first.
It's really important that I have a daily meaningful conversation with patients
to actually get to know them beyond just the day to day
conversation that we might have.
Taking the time to kind of just take a step back and think actually this patient's
a bit nervous
spend a little bit of time with them explaining the procedure talking them through it,
I do everything for them whatever they ask me, I go and see them
I talk to them and they tell me what they like to eat and don't like to eat
or they're upset about something, and I try to help as much as I can.
And they're really nice people as well as they don't just
sit there and say oh you've got this or you've got that. They try to make a laugh out of it to make you
feel a bit more welcome and it makes it feel like a home, like a second home.
I think I have one of the best jobs in the NHS
I feel like I'm bursting with pride every minute of every day
and I hope I communicate that to people by wearing a smile on my face
and then doing the job that I have as professionally as I can
Being really enthusiastic and showing I love my job, it shows the patients we really do care
I love being a midwife
and the job satisfaction then comes from
looking at the the women and their families faces when they hold their newborn baby
It is very rewarding when I come back the next day to find the patient who came in
on a stretcher sitting up
in bed, you know, having a cup of tea, it's just fantastic.
I've seen over time how important to all of our staff
the care of our patients is. That gives me incredible pride
in what we do as an organisation
you only get back from people what you give to them so if you don't give them respect
you won't get it back.
There's over 200 languages spoken just in Southwark and
Lambeth and so we need to be able to respect
the diversity of our culture,
to provide information and services in an accessible way.
We try and give patients privacy
we try and make sure that we interact with them
very privately using siderooms, using curtains
and I think that's very important.
Minimising your screen when you're away from your desk so the patient's
details are not visible to other members of staff or visitors.
I always like to find out what they would like to be called whether it's the staff or the patients
because it makes a real big difference.
We work really hard to improve. We are learning every day
and we set a very high standard of goals for our team.
We're very open to constructive feedback
some people may view feedback as a self-criticism
or a negative but it's not, it really does help you to improve.
To be able to always push the boundaries
to see what else we can come up with to support patients.
The way that we ensure
we're providing really high standards of care is by auditing what we're doing
we look at what we're doing, we compare it to what others doing
and then we publish our data and I think we're very proud of what we've achieved here.
If we get the best staff and they're happy then that's the best possible thing for all our patients.
And and that's why this hospital is a good one
it looks after its staff and they look after their patients
Integrity is really important to me, it's about providing
the best care whether someone's watching or not.
Addressing the problems and focusing on not who is right but what is right.
If I start on something I make sure I see it right through to the end.
It means that you give your word you keep your word. People can trust you,
people can rely on you.
At times I have to do treatments that are particularly uncomfortable
so I have to be open and honest with the patient, explaining the treatments that I want
to do for them to be able to trust me that this is the best thing for them.
So you have to be your own manager, you have to maintain the standards without somebody
standing next to you cracking the whip
and it's important because
wherever the patients are, they deserve the same high standards
To care for patients in a way in which
I myself would want to be treated or expect and in a way that I would want
my mother to to be treated or any member of my family
and I think by working like that and having that philosophy
you won't go far wrong.