I recently wrote an article for UCLH News about some of the things Governors have been up to for the last year, it’s short so there’s not so much detail but (given the number of people who find this blog by searching for UCLH Governors) I thought some might find it helpful/interesting.
Governor’s Involvement (UCLH News, Spring 2013, p.3)
I took over as Lead Governor in September 2011, with only a vague sense of the role and responsibilities but a real passion for improving patient experience and the care provided by UCLH. My statutory role is to act as a point of contact between Monitor, one of our regulators, and the Governing Body, when needed, but I am involved in a variety of groups, projects, and initiatives across UCLH alongside the rest of the Governing Body. Over the coming few months I hope to set up a UCLH Governors’ blog so you can find out more about what we are each doing and about our individual areas of interest.
One of the highlights of the last year and a half for me has been the development and launch of the Making a Difference Together campaign and the associated UCLH values. I had the privilege of speaking about the ups and downs of my patient experience at the initial workshop for this campaign and I sit on the campaign steering group alongside another governor. Patients, carers, members and governors have been, and will continue to be, heavily involved in this programme and its associated projects, in a variety of ways. Increasing patient involvement is a goal for UCLH and the Governing Body and I am always on the lookout for opportunities for patients and governors to engage more with the work UCLH does.
A real focus for last year was the Quality Improvement Framework and as part of this work we found opportunities for members to spend time on the wards following staff around tracking their activities and time at the bedside. These baseline audits allowed staff to better understand how their time was being used, which in turn allowed them to find ways to increase their time with patients.
The Governing Body has been busy over the last year and alongside our formal meetings in public, we have met for seminars on the Health and Social Care Act, medication errors, integrated care, service development, corporate services, and patient experience. We set up a group to better understand how quality is measured at UCLH and to think about how we as patients, carers and the public think about quality in healthcare – what does excellent care look like for us? Our most recent Governing Body meeting focused on communicating quality, using performance and outcome data, to help inform patient choice.
It is a privilege to be your governors and we always want to do more to understand your concerns or areas where you might be interested in getting involved. Contact us via the membership office. To find out who your governors are visit www.uclh.nhs.uk/members
Read more about Members Involvement and Members and Governors working together in the Spring 2013 Edition of UCLH News.
Adventuring with Fi 