Patient and family/carer experience in the emergency department West Middlesex University Hospital

This project focused on improving patient experience for people attending A&E with chest pain at West Middlesex University Hospital.

A driver diagram and performance dashboard were produced to establish the aims and monitor performance of the project. The aims included:

• developing an understanding of the current experiences from the patient’s/relatives’ point of view
• involving a wide range of staff and service users to devise improvements
• using small tests of change to trial practical improvements
• monitoring progress in a way that is real for front-line staff
• using techniques from high-performing, international organisations
• recognising the synergy between staff and patient experience.

Some of the activities that helped meet these aims were:

• Engaging staff and encouraging their input through a series of events and training opportunities.
• The team reviewing the patient environment, undertaking research into the Resuscitation Room reconfiguration options including visiting five other London Trusts.
• Patient experiences were gathered using LINks A&E Review, A&E Picker Survey and shadowing. Staff were then given the opportunity to unpick this information at an event including staff, patients and volunteers.
• The team reviewed the analgesic pathway and the ECG process, including by auditing five patients a day to establish a benchmark.