#hellomynameis campaign shines light on personalised care

Categories: Care.

Hello, my name is Charlie.

Last week I was lucky to be part of an invited audience to hear Dr Kate Granger talk about her #hellomynameis campaign. Kate, who is a doctor and has a terminal illness, and her husband Chris are on a mission to improve the relationship between a patient and the healthcare professionals they meet.

Having been diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2011, Kate vividly described her experience of being referred to by her bed number or by her disease. What does the person who is ill know about the healthcare professional that is treating them? It can be a very one-sided relationship and she’s shining a 500 watt light bulb on the ‘little things’ we healthcare professionals can do to help improve communication and personalise care for our patients.

Person-centred care

Kate’s story of campaigning to improve the experience of patient care is inspirational and it was fascinating to hear her talk about her passion for the NHS. Many people have told her she should be off sunning herself, whereas she wants her legacy to be that the NHS adopts a person-centred approach, treating all patients with compassion.

As healthcare professionals we all make a difference to someone’s care. Through a simple change of going back to basics we can make a difference to someone’s experience of that care. Introducing ourselves, not making assumptions and ensuring we use simple language and avoiding jargon can all make a huge difference to the patients that we treat.

We’ve all experienced a busy, stressful environment like a hospital but it’s up to us as healthcare professionals to ensure that we’re taking that extra second to make an individual’s experience of whatever news we’ve got to tell them or care we’re there to provide as clear, considerate and compassionate as possible.

This blog was first published on the Marie Curie website and is republished here with permission.

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