by Michael Lockhart
A NEWLY formed voluntary group is working with staff to improve services in Letterkenny University Hospital for patients and their families.
The group is currently developing a number of new initiatives at the hospital.
Sean Murphy, LUH Hospital Manager, has spoken of his appreciation of the work of the volunteers.
He said patient engagement is “hugely important”.
“My sincere thanks to the group members who are giving up their time and sharing their lived experience to improve our services in LUH.
“Patient engagement is hugely important; we know that only by listening and responding to feedback can we create meaningful change to our patient’s experience.
“We want our stakeholders to play an active role in how services are delivered and the Patient and Family Experience Group is an important mechanism for formal engagement and communication.
“Working in partnership with this group we can better understand and meet the needs of our patients as we strive to create a culture of quality, safety and transparency in the hospital.
“Though the group was only formed in recent months, they are already having a positive impact in the hospital and are working on a number of quality improvement projects to improve patient experiences.”
Chairperson of the group, Kenneth Harper said the input of service users and their families is helpful in the design of new services, proposed changes in existing arrangements and in the appearance and upkeep of the hospital estate.
“We welcome the opportunity to explain our experiences afforded by the liaison group and the time given to it by healthcare officials at LUH.”
Group member, Siobhan Cullen, added: “The Patient and Family Experience Group is a very collaborative team, working with patient and family representatives as well as hospital staff to review and improve patient experience. It is very much based on the lived experience of patients from children to elderly people including feedback from family members. It’s so useful to share ideas and listen to different perspectives around the challenges faced and some positive actions so far by LUH make it a very worthwhile experience.”
Anyone who has recently been in hospital and would like to contribute as a member of this group, please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service by emailing: PALS.LUH@hse.ie
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