Embedding Care Opinion as 'The Norm'

My name is Kate Gribben Lead Nurse for Contraception & Sexual Health (CASH) we are part of the Integrated Maternity & Women’s Health (IMWH) in Surgical & Cancer Services in Acute Directorate within Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland.

Our service covers Contraception and Sexual Health. This consists of three teams namely: sexual health covering GUM/HIV, Early Medical Abortion (EMA) and Contraception Service. We provide clinics across our Trust locality in various locations in our Acute Hospital sites & Community Clinics.

All clients attending our clinics are given a bespoke flyer for clinic attendances, which has a QR code on generated by the Care Opinion 'Invitation Link Feature'. We feel that the QR code suits the profile of our service user and make it easier and quicker to leave direct feedback for our specific services. This allows them to share aspects of the Care they have received whether this be face to face or via triage.

Due to the sensitive nature of sexual health this has often been an area where patient experience has been difficult to obtain. However, we as a team consider it is vital that our clients are given the opportunities to share their experience so that we can provide better services for them now and in the future. It also allows us to work in partnership with our service users to gain a better understanding of what works well and what could be improved in all of our service areas. We also feel that this empowers our service users, it gives them a voice, so that they can if they wish inform others to avail of our service. Equally, as the feedback is anonymous clients have a platform to share recommendations for future learning and improvement.

All staff are given the opportunity to attend Care Opinion Awareness Training which includes “Framing the Ask”. This is available in a variety of ways to suits staff needs; Care Opinion UK / LearnHSCNI eLearning / monthly Trust Care Awareness sessions. This training support staff to be comfortable seeking feedback about the services they are providing.

I as Lead Nurse for the service have created a culture with our staff where it is the ‘norm’ now for staff when they complete a consultation ask clients if they're willing to give some service user feedback to help shape our future service.

Ways we promote Care Opinion and have embedded within our team:

•We have produced bespoke posters and included Care Opinion.

•We also include Care Opinion in our patient information leaflets both in the trust, in house and also on our trust web page under sexual health services.

•Care Opinion is kept on the agenda for any team meetings within the cash teams.

•Information from Care Opinion is shared with all staff at these team meetings.

•This has been invaluable for patient satisfaction and also for staff satisfaction in their jobs.

•It is a valuable tool for revalidation in nursing and medical revalidation that they have client user feedback.

•Positive feedback is also shared on our Trust social media channel through our Communications Dept so that others can be empowered to attend our services.

How we learn from stories on Care Opinion:

The majority of stories are positive however where negative feedback has been received, we reflect on this as an opportunity for learning and welcome this. It has provided us with a personal insight of the client's journey and resulted in some cases for us to amend our practise to make life easier from referral to being seen in our service - this is particularly true of our contraception service.

Where improvements have been made -

•We walked through the client’s journey and made amendments to our signage (posters, pop up stands) in the clinic

•How a client is welcomed when they attend their clinic appointment – given sensitive nature of the service.

•It allowed us the opportunity to be cognizant of the difficulties many clients face and actually accessing services particularly those were English is not the first language or those who have no car for access to get to clinics and have to use public service.

The themes within the positive stories are kindness ,care ,consideration, support ,felt listened to by nurses. This is so assuring to read as Lead for the Service. The reporting features of Care Opinion platform allow me as a Service Lead Nurse to produce meaningful reports for my 3 service areas so that I can share data in a purposeful way to the teams as well as my Line Manager.

By and large most clients are happy to give some feedback. Prior to CO this was very ad hoc and did not give us much information about what client’s expectations of the service provided was or how these could be improved. I believe the clients are happy to have their voice heard using the care opinion tool. To date for example within Contraception Services we have received 74 stories - Sexual Health / Contraception Service | Care Opinion. Something which the service greatly values.

Personally, for me as the Lead Nurse I have seen the value of Care Opinion not only for clients but also for the staff who work under tremendous pressure every day to provide an excellent service. It is very heartening when a client takes the time to give feedback about their service and actually names a staff member who has made a positive difference to their client journey. This has improved job satisfaction and actually morale within the teams I lead. I promote the use of Care Opinion for us to develop the care that we provide to anyone who uses our services and for staff from other areas and disciplines who refer into our services. Following changes, we made in the contraception service our client actually fed back to say that they were happy that their voice was heard and changes were made for future clients accessing the contraception service in one of our locality clinics.

Prior to leaving as the Team Lead in Contraception Service I made a word cloud about the positive voices from Care Opinion to the contraception service. I had this printed out in colour, which I framed and presented to staff to keep in the main office as a reminder of what our client value about them. This visible reinforcement of good service profession is seen by staff daily and reinforces the value of the jobs that they do in a crucial area of attaining good sexual health.

I will continue to promote the use of Care Opinion to my three teams that I lead in Contraception and Sexual Health. The client feedback is vital to promote good practise and challenge practise which needs changed.

I am delighted that I was awarded a Star Responder badge and certificate having changed practise in our contraception service. I wear my star opinion badge with great pride daily in my work. I continue to promote that clients are listened to I've asked for feedback about all aspects of their care so that we can provide an excellent service often in challenging times and with budgetary constraints.

Kate displays her CO * Star * Responder Award & new Client Directions board in Brownlow HC clinic, SHSCT- following change of practice from client feedback.

Sometimes the small changes that we can make the biggest difference particularly when we are aware that are patients are worried and anxious about upcoming consultations, test results, treatments and what this can mean - for the clients’ future.