Launch of PictoComm™ - A new communications tool to benefit patients and staff

Patients who experience difficulty communicating verbally will find a new picture book at their bedside to help them during their hospital stay.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) recognised a need to improve communication between medical staff and patients and two of its dedicated staff developed the idea of using pictures.

Barbara Hay, Head of Diversity and David Faulkner, Support Worker in Fluoroscopy at UHCW came up with an idea of having a basic needs tool that could be used within a number of healthcare settings with both patients and staff.

Barbara said: “We’re always on the look out as to how we can improve patient care and having a product available that was going to benefit both patients and staff was proving to be a desperate need on some of the wards. During the research and development stage we were able to find examples of good practice but not a comprehensive tool.”

UHCW chose to work in partnership with CDS, a national corporate communication and specialist publishing company to develop PictoComm™. As a market leader in accessible communications, CDS was able to share its experience and expertise in providing the best solution. CDS ensured that the bespoke illustrations were clear and easy to understand and that the materials met the Trust’s infection control standards.

Barbara Hay said: “Throughout a 12-month development stage, the illustrations were regularly tested and reviewed by UHCW and CDS, including a range of patients and frontline staff and some external community-based organisations”.

David Faulkner added: “This is a useful tool, and so easy to use. All of the pictures are clear and can be recognised easily, they speak for themselves. I can’t believe that this hasn’t been produced in this type of format before.”

Jonathan Astin, PictoComm™ Sales Manager, said: ”We are delighted to be partnered with UHCW in producing this tool to improve patient care. Our experience in producing communications for people with learning disabilities or whose first language is not English has proven invaluable. It provided the specialist knowledge and experience required to ensure PictoComm™ will work with the widest possible audience. Each illustration was researched and carefully tested. We have seen again that it is never safe to assume people will understand pictures; a small change can dramatically improve understanding. That’s why PictoComm™ took time and effort to develop and now over 95% or readers find it easy to understand.

PictoComm was officially launched at UHCW on 9 June 2011. In addition to local Trusts and healthcare providers, representatives from Trusts across the country were also in attendance.

ENDS

Picture captions: 
Top (L-R) John Pickard a patient at UHCW with Staff Nurse James Boamah taking a look at the new book 
Bottom (L-R) The team behind the new book - David Faulkner, Support Worker and Barbara Hay, Head of Diversity at UHCW NHS Trust and Richard Gregory, Creative Design Manager at CDS