England’s top nurse praises Whipps Cross staff in visit to hospital
The most senior nurse in the country has praised the ‘talent, energy, enthusiasm and pride’ of staff at Whipps Cross Hospital.
Professor Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, was taken on a guided tour to hear about how the hospital has improved its care.
Staff in the acute assessment unit shared with her how they have made care safer by making sure they had more permanent staff in their department. In 2016 the department relied on temporary staff to fill 70% of its positions. This has now reduced to just 23% thanks to targeted recruitment campaigns, providing support to help more junior staff to develop and improving morale in the unit. These improvements have also led to staff sickness rates reducing from around 7% in March 2016 to 0% in March 2018. The team put the success down to simple changes like introducing a buddy system to make sure less experienced staff have a senior colleague to show them the ropes.
Professor Cummings said: “I’ve met some amazing people at Whipps Cross today. Their talent, energy, enthusiasm and pride shone through. The teamwork between doctors, nurses and others, all for the good of patients, was palpable. It made me really proud to be England’s Chief Nursing Officer and I wish them all the very best.”
Professor Cummings was also shown new facilities for patients, including a new day room – complete with a spectacular view to the City of London - which older people use to relax and recover.
Associate Director of Nursing Tristan Kerr said: “We’re so proud of how far we’ve come so it was great to be able to showcase our work to the most senior nurse in the country. We’ve got big ambitions to make Whipps Cross Hospital even better and her encouragement will spur us on to do just that.”