Hospital 'welcome pack' wins innovation award

A hospital welcome pack that provides patients with information about what to expect during their stay, as well as an airline-style safety card, anti-slip safety socks and other essential items such as toiletries, has won the prestigious British Medical Association (BMA) award for innovation in patient information.

The patient information team at Guy’s and St Thomas’, who designed the innovative welcome pack in response to patient feedback, was the only NHS team to win at last night’s BMA Medical Book and Patient Information awards.

Anita Knowles, Director of Communications at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, says: “We are delighted that the welcome pack has been recognised in this way. It was developed with input from clinical colleagues and reflects our shared commitment to the delivery of safe, high quality care for our patients.  

“We had a clear aim - which was to improve the patient experience by giving patients and their relatives information about what to expect, as well as the confidence to ask questions about their care. Through the welcome pack we hope our patients will feel more empowered to tell staff about their wishes and preferences during their hospital stay.”  

Sarah Smith, the Operations Manager of the Patient Information Forum (PiF) praised the pack as ‘an excellent resource: innovative and well thought-out.’

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has an online, freely available library of about 850 patient information leaflets, regularly updated, and all produced in-house by the patient information team working with clinicians and healthcare professionals. Each leaflet is then tested by patients or lay readers to ensure it can be easily understood.

The BMA Patient Information Awards were established in 1997 to encourage excellence in the production and dissemination of accessible, well-designed and clinically balanced information.