Our Children’s team held a special event, ‘in your shoes’, where families with youngsters cared for at Queen’s Hospital could share their feedback.

It was an opportunity for our teams to hear what works well from families, including praise for the professionalism and kindness of clinical colleagues, smooth coordination between teams, and support from our play teams and community nurses.

The aim of the event was to also hear where things haven’t worked so well, helping us identify the areas we need to improve.

This included poor communication and consistency, clarity around discharge planning, and better facilities for patients with more complex needs and their loved ones during long hospital stays.

Nilofer Dawoodani, quality and safety advisor for our Children’s team, said:

This was the first time we’ve held an event like this, and it was great to see such a diverse group of staff and families come along to listen and share their experiences.

It was useful to hear the feedback, especially as it mirrors similar comments from other surveys. It really helps us to know what is working well for children and their families, as well as where we should improve.

Our team will now be looking at how we can implement changes based on this feedback, including providing a named consultant as a single point of contact following discharge and enhance facilities.

We will now hold events like this annually so we can continue to listen to feedback and track our progress against the issues raised.

Pictured top are our staff with families who attended the feedback event at Queens's Hospital.