As we head into autumn, I'm delighted that our new improvement programme, Patient First, continues to gain momentum and our collective understanding of what it can do for us grows as the weeks progress.

Of course, we all want to see the fruits of our labour – improvements making a real difference to the care our patients receive. At the moment it might feel like we are using a lot of jargon and talking about process but that is the first step to translating theory into practice – and we are quickly moving into the next phase!

As we learn from other trusts where Patient First is now second nature, we are using tried and tested tools to help us, and one particular favourite of mine is 'A3 thinking', which you may have previously heard me speak about. It's something I find really useful. A3 thinking is used to help us fully understand a problem and its causes. I have often in the past thought I knew the answer to a problem, but I have been surprised, when using A3 thinking, to find that the root cause is not what I thought it was at all, and therefore a different solution would actually be more effective. A3 thinking can be such an eye-opener and help us see things more clearly when thinking about the action we need to take to resolve an issue.

A graphic on A3 thinking is below, which takes you through each step and explains the process in a visual way. Why not give it a go if you haven't already? I and my Executive colleagues are following this journey at the moment to help us identify which projects within the Trust will be adopted as Corporate Projects under Patient First going forward.

We will also soon agree the next six frontline teams to start Patient First training and coaching and which Breakthrough Objective they will be focusing on - so it's an exciting time as we knuckle down to the next phases of roll-out. Thank you all once again for your ongoing support for Patient First.

Jayne Black, Chief Executive

If you’ve visited the Maternity Unit recently you may have noticed new posters and pull-up banners that have gone up asking for feedback about the service and patient care. 

They each feature a QR code which, when scanned with a mobile phone, takes you directly to the Friends and Family Test for maternity services. 

It’s one of the first services to go live with the posters and pull-up banners to help drive up our response and recommendation rates for the patient Friends and Family Test, which is one of our first Breakthrough Objectives (see below for the definition of a Breakthrough Objective). 

Further banners and posters will follow very soon in Arethusa Ward, Keats Ward, Penguin Assessment Unit and Same Day Emergency Care and the plan is to roll them out in all areas in due course.

Please encourage patients and visitors to complete the survey. It really is an important piece of work. Not only will the feedback allow us to see what we are doing well and the areas we need to improve, it will also help us achieve a 95 per cent recommendation rate as a place to receive care and be in the top 25 per cent nationally for our scores.

The Trust’s Style Guide and Branding Guidelines have been updated to include information on how we should include Patient First in our communications and materials.

The Patient First logo is the visual identity for our new improvement programme and should be used alongside our Trust logo on Trust documents, publications, patient information and presentations from now on.

The guide giving full details is available on the intranet here. If you have any questions, please contact the Communications and Engagement Team at communications.medwayft@nhs.net

A Patient First email signature has already been produced and should be used by all staff. This is available from the Patient First section of the intranet. Please download it and add it to your signature if you are not already using it. Thank you.