Customer Service in health care

I have talked about this often but not using the words customer service. I talk about understanding and listening to the person and their needs and responding appropriately to what the person wants, not what you want to give them. You will also often have heard me talking about "who is paying your wages". It is the same thing.

This came up again when i was out of Auckland recently. It is particularly apparent in nurses from overseas although not exclusively. It includes both registered nurses and caregivers.

So what can we do to address this?

Well my next topic I am going to put on line is "Introduction to Caregiving". This is Customer Service. It will outline what is expected of a caregiver and will come with worksheets. It is not a required topic for District Health Boards but it is an essential topic for care - at all levels.

If you want to give your residents the best care available then your staff need to understand customer servicer, customer relations and social interaction. All of these come together to provide a place where people want to come and live, not fear; where people tell others it is a great place to live so so it sells itself; where staff retention is high and people are clambering to come and work for you; where you can pick and choose your caregivers.

All in all this is a good model of care and should be the industry standard. Who knows, it could do auditors out of a job!!!