The simple step of saying ‘Hello, My Name Is…’ to a patient, is instantly warm and reassuring, and it’s the reason why 10 years ago Dr Kate Granger launched her campaign of the same name. Leeds Teaching Hospitals is marking the moment and calling for all colleagues across the Trust to actively take part.
Dr Kate Granger, a consultant from Yorkshire, was frustrated during her cancer treatment when clinical teams did not introduce themselves to her, so she launched her campaign to raise awareness of the importance of introductions in healthcare, particularly in making patients feel more relaxed. Staff across Leeds’s hospitals wear a badge with their name on and the campaign is a part of the Trust’s induction process.
Professor Phil Wood, Chief Executive, says, “Our patients are our main priority and patient-centred care is at the heart of what we do. It’s important that we continue to support and promote this campaign.”
From 22-26 July several events will take place across the Trust, including a seminar with Kate Granger’s widower Chris Pointon, who has carried on Kate’s work nationally. New videos and staff stories will be shared across social media and colleagues are encouraged to order their Hello My Name Is… badge and join the campaign. The badges are kindly supported by Leeds Hospitals Charity, who have committed to continue their financial support for the future.
Rabina Tindale, Chief Nurse, said: “As a nurse, I know how important it is to develop relationships with patients, to make them feel comfortable when they are feeling vulnerable. Introductions are more than a common courtesy; they are vital in building a connection and trust.”
As part of the focus week on patients, the Patient Experience team launches a new awareness push called the 3Cs, Communication, Coordination and Compassion. Based on data from a Care Quality Commission, (CQC) review in 2017, the team has identified these three areas where patient feedback highlights the greatest need for improvement, and they will be promoting these themes to staff to improve quality of care.
Krystina Koslowska, Head of Patient Experience, said: “We know that almost 50 percent of complaints received in the Trust relate to the 3Cs—communication, compassion and co-ordination and that by making improvements in these areas, we can help patients and families feel more satisfied with our services and the care we provide.”
The Trust looks forward to a week of working together to focus on improving care.
An introduction video from Consultant Dr Kate Granger.
Hello My Name is – Dr Kate Granger
I wanted to start by just saying how proud we are to have you working at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. You’ve inspired thousands of people to sign up to the “Hello, My Name Is” campaign and reconsider how they interact with patients every day. You will know that being patient-centered is one of our five values now as an organization, and I know that’s something you feel really strongly about. I just wondered if you could tell us a little bit about your story and what led you to the “Hello, My Name Is” campaign.
So, my story is quite a long and arduous one now, and it starts about three years ago when I was on holiday in California with my husband. We were having a lovely, well-earned break in the California sunshine, but I wasn’t feeling very well. A few days into the trip, I started getting some really severe pain in my back, and that got worse and worse until I ended up in hospital. When we got into hospital, it became apparent that I was seriously unwell. My kidneys had stopped working, and the reason for that was that my abdomen and pelvis were full of tumors. So, out of the blue, at the age of 29, I got a diagnosis of cancer.
We didn’t really know what kind of cancer it was or where it had come from, but the American doctors thought it might be ovarian cancer. We came home after some initial treatment in the States to try and work out what was actually going on, and that’s when I started being a patient here at Leeds. I was admitted quite soon after a referral from my GP to the Bexley Wing. After a lot of tests and procedures, I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of teratoma.
During that initial time when I was going through chemotherapy and just trying to accept my diagnosis and get my family through that horrible time, I kept myself sane by writing about my experiences. That was initially just a private diary, but by the end of my chemotherapy in January 2012, a lot of people encouraged me to share it as a book. That’s where I started sharing my illness. I went back to work at that point and realized that a lot of the things I had observed as a patient and experienced as a patient were really, really important for how we provide healthcare. Being patient-centered really meant a lot more to me personally, and how I acted as a doctor in my own behaviors toward patients—my body language, how I gave patients more time, and how I took more care to break bad news—because of the experiences I’d been through. All that kind of led on to me being a keen observer of my healthcare.
“Hello, My Name Is” was born out of an experience in Leeds in August last year when I had a simple procedure to have the stent that drains my kidneys replaced. Unfortunately, that was complicated by post-operative sepsis. At that time, I noticed a lot of the healthcare staff interacting with me didn’t introduce themselves. It wasn’t just one nurse or an occasional blip in the system; it seemed to be everyone, and that felt really wrong to me. The first thing we learn as doctors is to introduce yourself to your patients. It’s a fundamental part of communication, and I couldn’t really believe that it was happening. The more I observed, the more I realized it wasn’t happening. So I started tweeting about the idea, using the hashtag #HelloMyNameIs, to try and encourage people to think about how they interact with patients and how it’s really important to think of the person behind the patient. The start of that is by introducing yourself—about that human connection with people, about building a relationship, about allowing your patients to trust you. That campaign spread throughout the NHS very quickly as an idea that everyone can do that doesn’t cost any money and can have a big impact on the experience that our patients have. I was soon being asked to speak at lots of healthcare conferences and at lots of different trusts. Just a couple of months ago, we decided that we wanted to try and make the idea fly in Leeds as well. With lots of support from the executive team here, from the medical director, chief nurse, and chief executive, we’ve really made the campaign come alive here.
Just to take you back a bit before you were diagnosed and you were a doctor—a young doctor—what was your experience of being a doctor, how you perceived patients, and how you said that when you were a junior doctor, you focused on communication? Could you tell us a little bit about that?
So, before I was ill, I was a fairly empathic doctor. I wanted to be a geriatrician, and part of being a doctor who looks after older people is lots of communication. We deal with breaking bad news, often very significant diagnoses for people. There’s often a lot of communication about the risks and benefits of treatment in the face of very little evidence, and there’s lots of end-of-life communication and planning. So we did a lot of talking and communicating with my patients and particularly their relatives. But before I was ill, I think one of the things that I did, and most junior doctors do, is focus on tasks, trying to get tasks done, job lists ticked off, and things, and maybe not focusing enough on the person behind those tasks and why they needed to be done. I think you get a little bit stuck on the medical agenda sometimes, and that’s how we’re trained, unfortunately. Moving the focus back to the patient is really important in my view.
Just a broader question: How has your personal experience shaped your perception of care within the NHS?
So, my perception of care within the NHS has obviously been influenced by my own experiences. I think I’ve perceived care to be very variable within the NHS, and that’s something that I think we all need to work on. I’ve received some outstandingly good care at Leeds. I’m supported by some amazing clinicians and fantastic nurses, but I’ve also received some care that hasn’t been what I’d expect it to be. That includes not having my pain adequately managed or communication that has been suboptimal and caused me quite a lot of distress and psychological harm. I think we need to focus on that variability and try and get everyone up to the amazing standards that I know we can deliver within the NHS. And that’s a big challenge for everyone.
It would be interesting to hear some examples of that good care from your own point of view. What does good care mean to you?
My experience of good care has been, you know, across the board. I’ve had some really good experiences. One thing that’s very important to me as a patient is continuity. The continuity that, for example, my consultant oncologist gives me is amazing. Being able to see the same person every time is really lovely. That means you don’t have to go through your story over and over again. You know that somebody knows you and knows your problems and knows how to deal with you and how to manage your problems appropriately. And that’s really important to me. Good care is when you feel looked after, when you feel that somebody is doing their best for you, and that you are made to feel special—that your problems matter. That can be as simple as somebody just holding your hand. For example, a couple of months ago, I was really unwell, in the Bexley Wing, with bad febrile neutropenia. My temperature wouldn’t come down. I’d gone through loads of antibiotics, and nothing seemed to be working. I was in loads of pain, and I was really frightened that I wasn’t going to get better. The consultant oncologist who saw me that Saturday evening just put his hand on my arm and said, “Kate, you’re going to be okay.” Just that human interaction and touch made me feel that he really cared, that he was doing his best for me, and that I mattered. He recognized my vulnerability and how scared I was. That’s simple, isn’t it? Everyone can do that. But that’s how I see care.
Why do you think a positive and personal introduction, such as “Hello, my name is,” is important to a patient?
I think an introduction from a member of healthcare staff is essential for a patient. It starts a relationship, builds a human connection, allows them to trust you, and builds rapport between two people. It’s also a little bit about power. In the power stakes, as a patient, you’re quite low down, and as a healthcare professional, they’re quite high up. That’s because of information—patients don’t know anything about what’s happening to them and the new, scary environment of healthcare, whereas healthcare professionals know lots about the patient and intimate details about them. That power imbalance is very visible as a patient, and I’ve felt that, even though I’m familiar with the environment. Just simply introducing yourself can realign that power and try to get everyone on an equal level.
So, for someone who hasn’t heard of “Hello, My Name Is,” how would you summarize it?
“Hello, My Name Is” is basically a social media campaign designed to inspire, encourage, and remind healthcare staff about the importance of introductions in their interactions with patients. It’s an aspirational campaign that’s designed to inspire people rather than being a protocol that someone must do. It’s about an internal behavior and a value that people should feel is important to them and how they behave when they’re at work.
Have you been surprised at the success the campaign has had?
I’m continually amazed and surprised at how much success the campaign has had. Every single day, there’s a new example of somebody doing something new with the idea, and it’s just amazing to see it spread through the NHS. I can’t believe that one simple idea, that came out of a conversation between me and my husband, has had such an impact on so many people.
So, when you talk about all the people who have been inspired, we’re talking about people from the very top of the health service, like the Secretary of State for Health, all the way down. Would you.
An introduction video from Deputy Chief Nurse Emma Rogers.
Hello my name is…making hospitals more welcoming
“Hello, my name is Emma.”
I’m Emma Rogers, Deputy Chief Nurse at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. When people come into the hospital, they are often feeling vulnerable. It’s important for us to help them feel more at ease, and one simple way to do that is through a personal introduction: “Hello, my name is Emma.”
As a trust, we aim to be open and welcoming to all our patients, recognizing that for many, English may not be their first language. It’s vital to ensure that we make patients feel seen and heard, which is why introducing ourselves is so important.
Now, let’s hear from some of our staff members about why they support this campaign:
“Hola! Seeing the person behind the condition is important.” “I introduce myself because patients feel more at ease when they know who I am.”
“Namaste. Making a human connection is reassuring to patients.” “By introducing myself, I am showing compassion and offering reassurance, which is important to patients.”
“Going the extra mile makes a difference.” “This small gesture of introduction can have a huge impact in making our patients feel cared for and valued.”
Let’s all make an effort to introduce ourselves—this simple act can make a world of difference in the care we provide.