Claire Scrim discovers how finding out what matters to staff encourages personal connections and helps bring comfort to patients.
On 6 June 2018 I was invited along to visit the Bayview Ward at Stratheden Hospital in Fife, which cares for older men living with dementia-type illnesses, to learn about their ‘What matters to you?’ day activities.
The charge nurse, Susan, took me round the ward showing me the huge amount of effort that has been made by the team in preparing for the day. The staff had worked with the patients and families to build a collage about each of the patients’ lives before they came into the ward. These collages included family photos alongside each family member’s name, pets, hobbies, careers, sports, likes and dislikes, and any other details that the patient, family or staff felt was important to display.
The team pulled out key pieces of information from these collages and displayed it on their ‘What matters to you?’ tree in the communal area for all patients, staff, families and visitors to see. What mattered to the staff was also included and was displayed on the associated uniform.
Bayview Ward’s ‘What matters to you?’ tree
One of the ‘branches’ of the Bayview Ward ‘What matters to you?’ tree
I spoke with some of the staff about this approach and they talked about how it gave them more opportunity to learn more about the patients from their families – with some surprising results! One of the patients was a photographer and reportedly was the first to get a photo of Prince William and Kate.
Staff also mentioned that these collages has helped as a distraction for patients who have become agitated, and discussing aspects of their life has helped to comfort them.
Families spoke about how they appreciated this approach and showed huge enthusiasm in getting involved in helping create the collages and often would bring in new photos and information when visiting their loved ones. One family member ran the Edinburgh Marathon relay in May to raise money for the ward – this is being put towards a bigger television on tilting wall bracket which was identified as needed during a ‘What matters to you?’ conversation with patients who struggled to see the existing screen.
Although these collages and the ‘What matters to you?’ tree were only developed in the weeks leading up to ‘What matters to you?’ day, there has been such a positive reaction to them that it has become ‘business as usual’ which perfectly fits into the team’s person-centred ways of working. The team told me that any new patients that come into the ward will have one of these collages displayed next to their bed, and when they go home or move onto a different ward, it will go with them to make sure that those caring for them know about the person and not just the patient.
~ Claire Scrim, Healthcare Improvement Scotland