A national award for excellent “patient experience” has been given to the NHS trust that runs Watford General Hospital.
The West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust started the “Going for Gold” campaign to help staff “deliver a gold standard level of care to patients”.
The scheme included five themes such as “I create a calm environment”, “the patient is my priority” and “I keep patients informed”.
The award was given by the Patient Experience Network National Awards, and representatives from the judging panel said: “We loved the enthusiasm shown by staff to improve the care given to patients.”
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust won the award for “Setting the Stage/Support for Caregivers, staff and family”.
The trust, which also manages Hemel Hempstead Hospital and St Albans City Hospital, received top marks in their National Outpatient Survey, with patients awarding a 92% rating for their overall hospital experience as good, very good or excellent.
Director of nursing, Natalie Forrest, said: “On behalf of the trust, we are absolutely delighted to accept this important national award. The trust is constantly striving and achieving clinical excellence, but also recognises that ‘customer care’ is a crucial dimension in ensuring that patients receive the best hospital experience possible.
“Listening to patients and staff and responding to what they tell us has been a key element in the development of our new patient-focused strategy. This has brought about a real change in culture and attitude around the hospital sites, and patients are now telling us that their experience is ‘outstanding’, and ‘they couldn’t have received better treatment anywhere else in the country’, which is something we are proud to have achieved.
“However, we realise we still have work to do and will continue to strive to improve the experience of our patients even further.”