On Valentine’s Day UCLH launches a campaign calling for kindness in hospitals

UCLH is launching ‘Treat me with Kindness’ campaign this Valentine’s Day to make our hospitals a nicer place for  everyone.

As record numbers of people attend health settings¹ this can sometimes cause frustration for patients and their loved ones.

Members of the public will see a series of posters at UCLH hospitals reminding everyone that healthcare staff are people trying to provide them the very best care possible.

David Probert, UCLH Chief Executive, said: “It is a privilege to care for our patients and support their loved ones. We know that accessing health care during peak times can sometimes feel frustrating. We also want to remind everyone that our staff are doing their very best to help you and that everything moves along more quickly and comfortably when everyone acts with kindness and courtesy.”

Jezreel Jordan, Ward Sister, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH said:

“Coming to hospital can be stressful and scary and we understand that. We think all our patients and staff will have the most positive experience possible if we all act with kindness. Seeing anyone being treated unkindly is hard for everyone who witnesses it even if it temporarily vents frustration, it usually makes things worse for everyone. That is why I was so happy to be part of this campaign supporting kindness, it is the lifeblood of a happy caring environment.”  

As well as the posters UCLH is delivering training and support for staff to help with de-escalation of tense situations and asking staff to report all incidents so that appropriate action can be taken. While in the short term this might lead to increased reporting of incidents it will also help us to develop better solutions.

The programme is kindly supported by UCLH Charity. 

Notes

1. www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/UEC-Daily-SitRep-Web-File-Timeseries-2.xlsx
2. High resolution images of the ‘Treat me with kindness’ posters are available.

 Video links

• Caroline: https://youtu.be/bBxBF3HMFrY
• Haddy: https://youtu.be/9rhNq6PDK0s
• Ben: https://youtu.be/6hZjCOTlUnk
• Obi: https://youtu.be/TTNKRWWQOjA