As a patient, you will expect the best possible clinical care when you come to hospital. You also have the right to expect that, as well as looking after your physical needs, hospital staff will be polite and helpful and conscious of your need for privacy and dignity.
To that end, all new Royal Free staff take part in an orientation programme which not only explains trust policies and procedures but also explains to them how we expect them to treat the patients in our care.
This introduction to working life at the Royal Free is reinforced with in-house training as well as external courses and support which provide opportunities to learn from colleagues elsewhere in the NHS and outside it.
An example of the material used in our orientation course is a video called "How Others See Us", narrated by Fawlty Towers’ star Andrew Sachs. Shot from the point of view of an out-patient, the five-minute video shows staff how to avoid some of the most common causes of patient complaints.
We would be interested in your feedback on this film. Do you think it covered issues that are important to patients? Were there others you would have like to have seen included? Is there anything else you would like to say about it? Please email your thoughts to: Philippa Hutchinson, head of communications at: philippahutchinson@nhs.net.
