Karen Bonner, head of nursing: It's important that patients feel listened to and that they feel valued and they feel that what they are going to say is contributing to their care.
Roni Cummings, matron: If we can make their stay a good experience it makes us all happy, patients and the nurses.
Patient: You feel more confident when you know that they’ve listened to what you’ve said and they’re actually going to do something about it.
Martine Osborne, ward sister: It's really important for us to know we're doing the best job for our patients. Whether they tell us something little, like their dinner wasn’t right, to something that could change the whole Trust, we must listen to them.
Penny Minchin, ward sister: We had some feedback from our online survey to say that it would be nice to know who the nurse in charge was on every shift and we went through various ideas about how we could identify them and we came up with something that worked for everybody. So the nurse in charge armband is worn by the nurse in charge on the day shift and the night shift.
Sarah, patient: It's always nice to be able to recognise who I can go and talk to or ask to see and then they can always go through things for us. And also when the family comes sometimes they ask questions and I can say, go and see the nurse in charge, got the band on.
Gary Nash, technical instructor, wheelchair service: Taking a few minutes, and that’s all it is, at the end of a clinical session and just getting a few answers from each of the patients is a really easy thing to do. One of the comments was 'it would be nice to have cup of tea' and so that led us to get a tea and coffee machine in place.
Juliett, patient: Not everybody eats in the morning, there may be a patient will come in, the patient is weak, feeling bad, and so it’s very important that they have these tea and coffee machines around.
Ashton Wright, porter: The Trust decided to get new uniforms for the porters because a patient had mentioned that the previous uniforms looked a bit worn and they didn’t look as smart as they could be.
Susan, patient: It's important to me to be greeted by a friendly and very smart looking porter. You get more confidence in them and you feel happier in talking to them, perhaps, as a member of staff.
Ashton Wright: When patients come sometimes we are the first contact when they come to the hospital and when you meet someone for the first time that they do look smart and they do look presentable and in turn that will make you feel more safe, that will make you feel that you are in a professional environment.
Roisin Fitzsimmons, allergy consultant nurse: We wanted to think of more fun ways for children to give us feedback. So we came up with the idea of a feedback tree. It's a little picture on the wall of a tree and we’ve got some post it notes in the shape of leaves and we encourage children and their families to complete these and leave us feedback, good or bad, we really want to hear it.
Jackie Parrott, director of strategy: We engage with patients and their families and the public because we always learn from listening to them and involving them. That's the key thing, we want to involve them in decisions, and not just tell them when we've decided what's happening, but to involve them from the beginning.
Alison Hookham, Cancer Centre patient reference group: I was asked if I would be interested in joining the patient reference committee planning the new Cancer Centre at Guy's. They were looking for patients who had recently had cancer treatment. And I was very keen that radiotherapy would be above the basement level. I just think a bit of air, a bit of light will make all the difference. I will be very proud that the actual patient reference group have had our say to help future patients.
Frances Lawrence, call centre assessor: I'm here to do some call assessing. I'm a volunteer. We give feedback that can then go and be used in a constructive way to help them improve the service to patients.
Kevin Foster, customer services liaison officer: Independent feedback is very important. I've learnt to change my tone and my approach in how I deal with individuals to suit their need rather than my own need.
Roni Cummings: Patients told us that although our meals were varied it can sometimes be cold by the time it got to them. So with the help of the catering manager and the nurses on the ward we devised a lid that goes over the food with a suction that keeps the food hot while they eat their main course. It is a small change but it makes such a big difference to our patients.
Camella Main, specialist midwife: Women and families told us that it would be really, really great if the partners could stay with them after they have given birth. We put recliner chairs next to every bed on the postnatal ward and we invited all the partners to stay overnight so that they don’t have to leave their recently delivered partner and their baby.
Jorge and Anna, father and daughter: I can't imagine not having been given the opportunity to be able to spend the night here and help out my wife with anything she needed and to give my little daughter a cuddle when she needed it too.
Sanjeev Heemraz, eye department matron: We introduced these yellow badges following a patient’s complaint. A patient said that he could not read staff names and could not remember who they were speaking to so we felt we had to do something, we are here for patients.
Bill, patient: Those yellow badges are really, really good, because they can be seen at a distance. So when you come into a clinic and you don't know who's who, and you see the name of Bill or Ann or Sanjeev, you sort of feel as though you know them. And if they talk to you for wee bit, you’re a friend. That’s how it should be I think.
Text: What do you think? Send us your feedback