NHS Forth Valley is supporting the ‘Hello, my name is…’ campaign to highlight the importance of staff introducing themselves to patients. Launched in 2013 by Dr Kate Granger, a hospital doctor in Yorkshire who has terminal cancer, the ‘Hello, my name is’ campaign began when she noticed during several hospital visits and admissions that staff were not identifying themselves, leaving her and her family without a human connection.

The campaign has already made big waves in England with many celebrity endorsers and has now made its way to Scotland, with the Scottish Government providing £40,000 for Scottish health boards to support the campaign. Among those backing the roll out locally in NHS Forth Valley are Kaye Adams and Ford Kiernan.

Kaye, who visited Forth Valley Royal Hospital to celebrate International Nurses Week, said: “I’ve had personal experience recently with my Dad in hospital and this is very real to me, it’s not just a nice idea. Having a personal connection with staff has immeasurably improved what has been a very difficult experience.

“I think this campaign is something that will make sense on a personal level; it’s not a complex idea. Professional does not have to mean impersonal.”

The ‘Hello, my name is..’ campaign is a friendly reminder that an introduction is an essential part of care, making patients, families and staff feel welcome in unfamiliar surroundings and situations. The Campaign will further support and enhance NHS Forth Valley’s existing person centred work which focuses on first impressions, communication and improving the experience of care. Collectively this work aims to ensure patients and families are made to feel welcome and cared for during their journey of care.

A variety of activities have taken place around Forth Valley Royal Hospital to help raise awareness. These included a pledge wall where staff could display their names, fun and the hospital restaurant also made empire biscuits with edible ‘Hello My Name is…’ logos.

Professor Angela Wallace, NHS Forth Valley’s Director of Nursing, said: “The response to the campaign has been fantastic and staff across the organisation have came up with fun ideas to promote it locally. Our pledge wall had to be extended to display the names of everyone who wanted to participate and now runs the entire length of our main ground floor corridor!”