Last time I shared my experiences from when I spent time as a healthcare assistant. If you read my last blog you’ll know what an impression helping out at Leicester General Hospital’s stroke unit made on me. Since that time I’ve reflected further on some of the key aspects of good service delivery.

First of all, good colleagues matter. The staff of ward eight were a great bunch of people to work with. Everyone generously welcomed me to the ward and immediately treated me as part of the team – how else can a group of people with both individual and team goals make the operation of such a complex unit work smoothly? Teamwork has to be the backbone of all we do in the NHS.

This was further demonstrated by the lunchtime routine. Protected lunch times were essential on ward eight. All staff on the ward stopped what they were doing and worked together to ensure that patients got their meal when it first arrived. On a basic level this ensures it’s warm for everyone but also that they eat together, which is more sociable. Mealtimes were an example of how when everyone works together we achieve so much more and this efficiency benefits patients and staff.

It also struck me how important it was to treat people as individuals, not just patients. Taking the time to chat to patients was one of the nicest and easiest elements of my role. The conversation wasn’t always about their condition and treatment. We all spend time chatting to patients, getting to know them as individuals, having ordinary conversations about what’s happening nationally, local events and even last night’s episode of Coronation Street. Social interaction plays a major part in securing a person’s wellbeing.

One of the patients I was looking after routinely lay in his bed all day and didn’t get many visitors. He asked me for something when I was in the middle of doing something else, so I told him I would be with him in five minutes. It was more like 10 minutes by the time I actually did return to him and he had already thought I had forgotten his request. So it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. It’s all about what you hear, so make sure you listen. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.

In fact one of my over-riding conclusions was the absolute importance of communication in general. Everyone spends so much time passing on information through patients’ notes, staff handovers and general ward procedures. This makes good quality information vital. It is worth taking the time to get communication right so it’s both accurate and clear.