23 December 2024

Last month, CNWL’s Improvement Academy hosted a special event at Mary Ward House to honour the outstanding efforts of our staff, service users and carers, who have worked together to improve the Trust’s services.

Over 40 people joined us on the day, and the event opened with remarks from Janet Seale, John Apted, and Terry Harper, who set the tone for the celebration and emphasised the importance of recognising everyone’s contributions to CNWL’s improvement work.

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Alison Butler, CNWL’s Director of Improvement, spoke about the vital role of Experts by Experience (EbE) and how they are helping the Trust to achieve our goals. She thanked both staff and EbE colleagues for their collaborative efforts, highlighting the Trust’s ambition to achieve 100 percent of EbE involvement in quality improvement (QI) projects.

Two teams presented examples of how EbE involvement is transforming services:

  • The Pond Ward QI Project Team explained how working together on flow improvements reduced the length of stay on the ward by 20 percent.
  • The Kensington and Chelsea Home Treatment Team talked about their staff training programme, demonstrating how involving an EbE colleague boosted staff confidence and skills.

A panel discussion followed, offering practical insights into engaging EbE colleagues through patient, service user, or carer forums. Panellists shared strategies to streamline processes and ensure meaningful involvement at every level of improvement work.

A highlight of the event was the awards ceremony, where CNWL’s Chair, Tom Kibasi, presented honours to EbE colleagues. These awards recognised their invaluable contributions and underscored their critical role in improving the Trust’s services.

Chief Operating Officer, Graeme Caul, concluded the celebration, reiterating the benefits of EbE involvement in QI initiatives. The event was a success, with one participant highlighting that “using the power of QI to involve EBE is a testament to true partnership working”, recommending that we bring this awareness to all healthcare workers and patients.