Watching a TV show about the world’s best restaurants I was envious of the freedom they have to deliver a gold-plated service and how they constantly seek to improve it.
A far cry from what service users can expect in the NHS.
It would be fantastic to be able to focus on every aspect of the experience from the patient’s perspective, with the aim to make it better. But it’s more about ‘what do we need to do’.
No doubt lack of funding plays a part as does limited time and resources. I’m sure not always having ownership of the delivery and outcome is also a factor. It can also be argued there is no benefit offering more than is needed.
Much of this is beyond what most of us can change but we can influence many aspects of what makes an experience excellent.
A starting point is to consider:
If you had greater skills or knowledge could it be used to improve delivery?
Are politeness and respect consistently used to build positive relationships?
Is the physical setting as clean, tidy and comfortable as it could be?
The goal should be to deliver the most positive experience not just meeting a request.
So, if you want to offer a gold-plated service then go that extra step. Don’t ask ‘what do you need to do’ but ‘what can you do’?
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