Improving our quality of care, 'For Pete's Sake!'

‘For Pete's Sake!’ is a new campaign that reminds all NHS staff, no matter what they do, to put themselves in the patent's shoes every step of the way. Our Continuing Heath Care team was inspired to develop the campaign by listening to the experiences of Pete, a father and husband who sadly died in 2016. Pete had multiple sclerosis and in the later stages of his illness used a wide range of local health and care services. His experiences helped him to identify some simple, small actions that can make significant differences to patients’ quality of life. He was passionate about improving experiences for other people and his wife Sue is now campaigning to make this his legacy.

In every care setting ‘For Pete’s Sake!’ calls on health care professionals, commissioners and business support teams to take steps to make sure they’re delivering the highest quality of support. Taking the time to listen to patients, thinking about the small things which can make a difference to each individual and using this information to improve experience for patients and carers to make a great difference. By raising awareness of how important these steps can be for patients, ‘For Pete’s Sake!’ aims to motivate staff to make these changes and improve the experience for all patients and their families whom receive care.

Sue Lenthall, Pete’s wife, said: “Pete’s story is a positive one, about overcoming adversity. We hope that with the ‘campaign, health care professionals - no matter what job they do - will be more aware of the part they play, of listening, of putting themselves in the person’s shoes and finding out what one thing can make a big difference. The smallest of steps can make a big difference.”

Emma Green, from the CHC team, said: This about ensuring we all think about the small things which can make a great difference to each individual person. Whichever team you work in and whatever job you do ask yourself ‘Where’s Pete in this?’ and ‘What one thing could I do to make this better for patients?’ We need to put ourselves in the patent's shoes every step of the way – from designing and commissioning services to delivering care.”

Mandy Philbin, Acting Chief Nurse, said: “We think this campaign really illustrates the culture of the NHS – patients are at the heart of everything we do.”

For more information as the campaign moves forward, please follow the hashtag #nhsforpetessake