Qualitative feedback – sample
| Staff | ’We were certain that we needed a change in practice to reduce the level of violence on the ward but did not think safety huddles would be so significant initially in helping us to do so. I could see that my team were much more confident in going out on the floor and dealing with the issues because we have a clear and agreed plan between staff that was formulated from the safety huddles. The ward begun to feel safer as less violent incidents resulted to physical injuries. More service users also started to attend the weekly community meetings as they reported to feel safer’. Project lead, Shoreditch ward, John Howard Centre |
| ‘We have found safety huddles to be very helpful for communication, planning and discussing care for service users. It is an open, confidential space where staff can voice their concerns and openly discuss the general safety of the ward and make plans for the day to facilitate delivering care in a safe environment. They have been beneficial in facilitating teamwork, communication and cohesion of staff’. Project lead, Bow ward, John Howard Centre | |
| ‘… I worry about my safety, the safety of my colleagues and the safety of service users we care for and their family and relatives. When I meet people for supervision, one of the things that always come up is safety. So, I was really keen to join the collaborative. Now, the ward is calm, patients are saying they are feeling safe. I have less incident forms to review and able to have meaningful engagement with patients. I am really glad’. Modern matron, Broadgate ward, John Howard Centre | |
| Service users | ‘Seeing staff do huddles was initially annoying because it felt like you were leaving us alone to do more meetings. Later after all the community meetings and explanation it made me feel safe because I knew the staff were planning to support someone that was angry or would end up being violent’. |
| ’When you guys first brought it to community meetings it felt like we were being blamed especially when you looked at all those orange and red dots on the map. And you found that we ended up arguing amongst us and others would even walk away from the meeting. Over time continuing to talk about it made us realise that we were also a part of the issue and we needed to understand how to support each other and live safely as a community. Talking about violence also made us feel listened to as the whole team was there and we could reflect and how staff or us could work or treat each other to make sure the ward was safe’. |