“Hello my name is …” Every time we say those simple words whether it is to a colleague, a patient, a family member, I am sure that many of us will think of Dr Kate Granger.
Humbly described on her Twitter page as a “wife, daughter, sister, aunty, friend, geriatrician, patient and author. Always tried to look on the bright side of life...” these things are of course true but by no means do they do Kate and her legacy justice. One word needs to be added here. Inspirational.
In 2011, at the age of 29, Kate was diagnosed with a rare aggressive form of sarcoma. Instead of giving up, she bravely decided to use her experience as a cancer patient to ensure that the NHS kept compassion at its core. Kate had noticed that numerous healthcare staff failed to introduce themselves before talking or doing clinical tasks throughout her treatment and recalled the significant difference it made when they did. Her husband, Chris, told her to stop complaining about it and do something. And so she did – or should we say they did – and the incredible international movement was born.
Beyond any doubt, Kate has changed the face of patient experience in the NHS forever. Let us all keep her spirit alive as we approach the anniversary of her passing and celebrate everything she stood for on International #HelloMyNameIs day on Sunday 23rd July.
Please show your love of #HelloMyNameIs by:
- Tweeting using the Hashtag #HelloMyNameIs
- Add a #HelloMyNameIs Twibbon to your social media account via this link https://twibbon.com/support/hellomynameis/twitter
- Add a #HelloMyNameIs image as your email signature. If you use Microsoft Outlook simply follow the stages in this link https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Create-and-add-a-signature-to-messages-8ee5d4f4-68fd-464a-a1c1-0e1c80bb27f2 and download the #HelloMyNameIs logo via http://hellomynameis.org.uk/resources/
- Download the #HelloMyNameIs poster to start discussions within your workplace via https://hellomynameis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/hello-my-name-is-poster-2017.ppt
And remember to share your experiences of the powerful nature of these simple word with Kate's husband on Twitter using the Twitter handle @PointonChris and with us at @IHM_tweets and @FabNHSStuff.
#HelloMyNameIs should not be a one off event and so let us all get thinking abut how to build on the International #HelloMyNameIs day on 23th July and perhaps use it as the foundation for your #FabChangeWeek pledge and celebrate the impact of this in November 2017.
For more information take a look at:
hellomynameis.org.uk/