You said

Anecdotal evidence and feedback from Patient Carer Council meetings brought to light a problem patients were experiencing with standard female nightgowns provided by the hospital.

Patients reported that the gowns gaped at the back because there wasn’t enough material to adequately maintain their dignity.

We did

A project team was set up to find a solution to the problem nightgowns. Louise Denner, Lead Nurse Standards, and John McElhoney, Operational Contracted Services Manager, worked with the Trust’s linen suppliers Sunlight, who changed their name to Berendsen earlier in 2013. Shirley Turner, one of the Trust’s governors, also supported the project.

The team worked on a suitable design for a new nightgown, taking into account feedback from patients, and in July 2013 the brand new gowns were delivered to the Trust.

Louise Denner said: “It’s been a real team effort to get these nightgowns from the initial design stage, through production, and to make them available for patients at UHB. It’s been a great partnership between the nursing team, commercial contracts management and Lynton Hamblett from Sunlight Healthcare. We know these gowns will make a real difference to patients.”