NHS Change Day Took Place Yesterday, Allowing Thousands To Recommend Ways To Improve Care

Thousands of staff members across the NHS pledged to change the institution's culture yesterday (March 3rd 2014).

Some 189,000 people across the service promised they would do all they could to make the UK's healthcare better as part of NHS Change Day.

One GP pledged to spend a day in a wheelchair so he could more easily understand the needs of his disabled patients, while a surgery manager promised to help dementia patients eat their lunch at a nearby care home.

Debbie Marks, of the Barnsley Hospital Foundation Trust, was one of those to fill in the online version of the pledge system.

"I pledge to act as an Ambassador for the Electronic Patient Record and tell at least one person per day about the benefits of using Lorenzo," Ms Marks said.

Lorenzo is an electronic patient system that aims to reduce the amount of paperwork that doctors have to deal with on a daily basis and has been commended for its ease of use by some NHS staff.

Dr Damian Roland, a paediatrician at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and one of the founders of NHS Change Day, said the pledge day was all about trying to improve the NHS.

To do his part, Dr Roland decided to test the medicines his child patients had to take on a daily basis and found they are often very unpleasant and as a result is now working with a pharmacy to try and improve their taste.

"A single pledge might not sound like much on the face of it, but when hundreds of thousands of people from every part of the NHS join forces with patients to pledge, it can create massive momentum for improvement," Dr Roland told the BBC.

Christina McAnea, head of health at the Unison union, commended NHS Change Day and said it challenges every member of staff to improve in their day-to-day role.

Expert Opinion

The NHS carries out some fantastic work across the country and nursing staff and doctors save lives on a daily basis. <br/> <br/>“The Change Day is an opportunity for people involved in healthcare to suggest improvements or pledge to carry out tasks to improve the efficiency and standard of care. It is really important that management within the NHS listens to both staff and patients. <br/> <br/>“We see all too often the consequences of medical negligence and the impact even small mistakes can have on patients’ lives. Hopefully Change Day may lead to improvements which could help save even more lives or prevent further medical accidents. We need to encourage a culture of transparency and improvement so that all NHS staff strive to provide the best care they can and are given the resources to be able to their job properly." Mandy Luckman - Partner