A remarkable day in Rotherham

Yesterday, Rotherham Hospital held a remarkable, perhaps pioneering, event attended by 80 or so staff from all parts of the hospital, from consultants to security staff, from admissions clerks to pharmacists. During the day, staff reflected on their interactions with patients and relatives by engaging vigorously with a small group of actors who presented a single scenario which could be played, and replayed, with direction from everyone present, until it felt "just right".

The event was called Every Interaction Counts. It was stimulated by a posting on Patient Opinion in which a relative of one of Rotherham Hospital's patients raised concerns about the care his step-father had received in his final days.

The hospital made very speedy and helpful response on the site, avoiding a defensive tone, and followed up with a meeting with family members to hear and respond to the issues raised. The author of the original posting took the trouble to post a very full and positive report of this meeting on Patient Opinion.

From our point of view at Patient Opinion, this is remarkable enough: if all hospitals across the UK were to respond in such an open, sensitive and non-defensive manner, we would be delighted. But more was to come.

Patient Opinion discussed with the hospital how the lessons from this one incident might be shared right across the organisation. At the same time, we were fortunate to receive a private donation specifically for just such a purpose. The result was a day in which a large group of hospital staff participated, reflected, engaged fully with one key difficult, vital, human question: what does it mean to care?

No doubt other members of the Patient Opinion team - especially Paul, who brought the day into being - will also blog with their perspectives. Or they may add postings on the main Patient Opinion site, where we have (a bit of a hack) set up the event so that participants can post their responses and reflect on whether - or how - it changes their daily practice. And in a small way, this is the start of a pilot for a new set of tools we aim to create which will enable staff and patients to work together to change services.

But, for now, it is enough to applaud the leadership and courage of Rotherham Hospital in taking the first, brave steps towards a new way of doing things.