Postcard Safety: great idea from the NHS

How postcards that asked four simple questions improved patient feedback on safety: A postcard that patients can use to give feedback on their hospital experience is the latest measure adopted by a trust since it signed up to Patient Safety First...

More here (thanks to Nursing Times & Helen Noble, clinical governance and patient safety manager, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust - who developed the idea)

The questions are:

• Did you feel safe in hospital? Yes/no. If no, please give further details;
• Were you given enough information in relation to your hospital stay/treatment? Yes/no. If no, please give further details;
• Was a member of staff readily available when you needed them? Yes/no. If no, please give further details;
• Do you feel the physical environment was safe? Yes/no. If no, please give further details.

I posed the question - why not ask for the positive feedback too? Appreciation can lead to improvements as well.

Radical efficiency: new report

Great interim report (full report to come soon) from The Innovation Unit:

Radical Efficiency: Delivering Much Better Public Outcomes for Lower Costs Through Innovation

Radical efficiency means different, better and cheaper public services. This is achieved by reconsidering the challenges faced by public services as well as rethinking the resources that are best suited to tackle them. By redefining desired outcomes rather than simply adjusting or trimming old models, they are able to make savings on a significant scale.

The report lists some good ideas and some challenging questions to get people thinking about innovation for efficiency in the public services.

And here is one place where these ideas have been applied: Croydon Council - Total Place

You might also be interested to read my (other blog's) recent posting on a 'legs eleven' set of ideas around beliefs that will help to build more efficiency and effectiveness in the 'new country' we are about to enter. Click here

iPhone App: reporting things to fix

Just spotted this application via iNews (see the original post here) - Lewisham have developed a phone application that allows people to easily report problems for the council to fix - such as potholes or instances of vandalism. You can find more information here. It has just been extended to all of London.

But why not an app to allow people to praise what a local authority, or NHS service or police unit is doing too?

Customer Journey Mapping: New Workshop!

Will Haywood from Stoke-on-Trent City Council has kindly emailed me to say they have organised another workshop about their CJM approach. It is on 28th May starting at 10.00am. If you wish to go - please email him either by clicking here or here 

Details of previous workshops and their approach can be found by clicking on these links here:

• Customer Journey Mapping Workshop: the results!
• Customer Journey Mapping Workshop
• Customer Journey Mapping

I have also blogged about this too - if you have an interest: 

• Customer journey mapping and attendance allowance

Some questions I would pose about CJM are:

• Can too much mapping lead to exhaustion? (see this post for further ideas on this)
• Can mapping get in the way of exploring?
• Is it appropriate to use the term 'customer' when financial restrictions will mean that partnering with local citizens becomes an economic necessity (see here for more about this debate)
• Is CJM on its own enough? What other organisational development is required to make the most of the insights and ideas gained?
• How hard is it to engage executive and political leaders in CJM? What else needs to be done?
• How much danger is there that CJM sanitises the frustrations and ambitions of local citizens by turning it into a 'map'? How direct, face to face and authentic conversations between service users & providers (at all levels) built into the process?
• What change of culture is required to make the most of CJM? Or does CJM itself stimulate a change in culture?
• How should the investment in CJM be evaluated? How has it been evaluated already? 
• In these increasingly stringent times - is CJM a nice to do or a need to do? What are the key arguments to assert its value?

Just some thoughts. As always I wish Will and his colleagues all the best with their forthcoming workshop!

UPDATE: It is my understanding that this team has now been disbanded.

Twittering for the Queen's peace

Here is a very interesting blog about how real time twittering helped to police high profile and volatile demonstrations by the English Defence League and Unite Against Facism at the weekend.

Is this part of the future of policing?

How are other public agencies (and police forces) using the power of the web to co-create better futures?

Please send any more examples to me - thank you!

25 Talks to Ignite & Unleash Your Creativity

Just been sent this link to a series of presentations to inspire your creativity & innovation. I have not watched them all - but if they are all of the quality of this one:

Mallika Sarabhai: Dance to change the world 

... they are well worth a browse.  I was struck by her point that art is able to effect social change in ways that straight politics may not always be able to. A point worth pondering on

The blog posting describes the list of 25 talks:

Whether you’ve fallen into a creative slump or just want to get inspired to make something new, there are loads of speakers and lectures out there that can explain, ignite and hopefully, motivate your creativity. Here are just a few we’ve pulled together to help you get your creative juices flowing and offer a free online education in everything creative, innovative and artistic right at your fingertips

Do have a browse.

Thank you to Emma Taylor for this link.