Impact #3 - Everyone has a story that can make a difference!

This story author agreed to blog as part of our impact series: hearing from people experiencing services, including ours, is crucial to helping us improve what we do.

                    

When I wrote my first story in Patient Opinion which was a negative experience, I thought what difference will it make but I had heard Patient Opinion is a great way to have your voice heard and I wanted to share my experience to help improve the system.  I was surprised to get a quick response from the service. Right away I felt valued for sharing my story with others, as well as the service.

Within a matter of a week or so I had another story but this one was a positive experience and again I got a quick response from the service.  I personally felt someone out there was listening and that sharing these stories is a way of communicating in a quick anonymised way and most importantly lets everyone have a say on how services are delivered that we all use and value.

I think Patient Opinion is a great way of sharing your experience and putting forward suggestions on how things can be improved.  It is also a great for providing staff with the praise that they deserve when everything goes well and as expected. 

In my view a shared experience by someone can lead to an even better experience of the next person receiving care, whether it’s shared as a positive or negative story.  My only reservation when sharing an experience would be that everyone can read it as it’s a public website. However using a non-identifiable username will allow you to remain anonymous and to share your story in a quick easy way.

Public organisations are continually improving how services are delivered but can only relate to the care provided; the wider community can relate to the care received and by bringing both together, it can result in better care for everyone. 

I personally think that within communities we can all inform and improve public services by just telling people what went well for you or what could have been better by having your voice heard.  Everyone can learn from positive and negative experiences and if anyone writes a story and someone reads a similar story it empowers them to share their experience.

If you’ve visited healthcare premises and received good care or less than expected care, let your story lead the way to making things better, everyone has a story that can make a difference!!