#HelloMyNameIs
You may have heard of the Hello My Name Is campaign. It’s been a bit of a force in the healthcare world lately, so much so that it now even has its own hashtag!
It was back in 2014 when we first heard about the campaign, when Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust contacted us to make this message:
It all started when Dr Kate Granger spent some time in hospital being treated for terminal cancer. She noticed that many of the hospital workers delivering treatment to her didn’t introduce themselves and found it quite startling.
She says, “This felt very wrong so encouraged and supported by my husband we decided to start a campaign to encourage and remind healthcare staff about the importance of introductions in the delivery of care. I firmly believe it is not just about knowing someone’s name, but it runs much deeper. It is about making a human connection, beginning a therapeutic relationship and building trust. In my mind it is the first rung on the ladder to providing compassionate care.” Thus, #HelloMyNameIs was born.
It’s been a very popular campaign, and soon after creating that initial message for our Doncaster and Bassetlaw screens, we created a whole series of ward screens for them and knew immediately that #HelloMyNameIs had to be involved. Digital signage lends itself so well to this campaign. We’ve managed to put dozens of photographs of all kinds of members of staff up on the screens in the departments in which they work, accompanied by a friendly introduction message and most importantly, their name.
Here’s one of Marianne Barker, a Junior Sister on the A5 ward:
Other hospitals soon followed suit, and we’ve successfully implemented ward screens with #HelloMyNameIs messages all around the country. Patients find the messages comforting and visitors find them handy too! What’s great is that even if you miss the name during treatment, or forget it you don’t have to risk embarrassing yourself by asking again, the message will rotate through the playlist and you’ll soon learn the names of the whole team providing your treatment! Here’s another similar message from Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Of course, it’s not just the wards that are utilising the #HelloMyNameIs message. Photos and introductions are going up in clinics, emergency departments, receptions, you name it. In fact, here’s another more general message from Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust that featured on their staff room screen, in order to remind the staff of the campaign start date ensure they remembered to introduce themselves.
A beautiful campaign, a brilliant concept and all so wonderfully aided by the visual communication network provided by digital signage. We’d highly recommend it for all NHS hospitals.