Jeremy Hunt visits Royal Berkshire Hospital
THE Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited the Royal Berkshire Hospital last week where he shared with staff his plans for improving patient safety and reducing avoidable deaths across the NHS.
During his presentation, director of Nursing Caroline Ainslie spoke about work the Trust is undertaking.
She spoke about the importance of leadership and staff engagement in encouraging an open, honest and supportive culture where reporting concerns of patient safety is the norm. She also gave an overview of the many initiatives being undertaken at the Trust that are showing real results in this area.
The Health Secretary followed with his presentation on the importance of improving patient safety and reducing the number of avoidable deaths, along with his plans and the wider work being done throughout the NHS to achieve this.
And Jacqueline DunkleyBent OBE, Head of Maternity, Children and Young People for NHS England and National Maternity Safety Champion for the Department of Health, spoke about her personal experience of ‘never events’ and how essential it is for managers and clinicians to work together to understand and share learning in a meaningful way.
Mr Hunt said: “It was a pleasure to visit Royal Berkshire Hospital and see so many staff engaged in patient safety.
“Their record of zero grade three or four pressure ulcers so far this financial year is a huge achievement. No doubt results like this will support the Trust’s ambition to become an outstanding organisation.”
And Royal Berkshire
NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Steve McManus, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Health and Jacqueline to the Trust. It was a great opportunity for colleagues to hear Mr Hunt’s plans and his ambition to ensure that the NHS is recognised as providing the safest, highest quality care in the world.
“Patient safety is a top priority for us and this was a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of our successful initiatives.”