North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson will show a local resident’s invention to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, in the hope that it will be implemented by hospitals around the country.
Rosemarie Phillips visited Justin to show him a patient information board, which she invented to provide important information to staff and visitors. The board includes four symbols which can be uncovered to identify if a patient has a hearing or vision impairment, has dementia, or is at risk of falling.
The board contains the hearing and vision impairment symbols, a forget-me-not to identify if a patient has dementia, and a maple leaf to show a patient may be unsteady on their feet. If the symbol is visible, rather than covered by a white magnet, it means it is applicable to the patient –for example, if the forget-me-not is showing then staff and visitors can see that the patient has dementia.
Mrs Phillips, a Royal National Institute of Blind People campaigner and GWH Governor, was registered blind for 6 years; before she regained her sight following surgery. Her experiences in hospitals helped her understand how a small change like this could improve the hospital experience for many patients, allowing for necessary adaptations and better understanding of the patient’s needs, without having to refer to medical notes.
Having come up with the idea, Mrs Phillips worked with the GWH to manufacture the boards and donated them to the hospital. Justin will now take a prototype of the information board to show Health Secretary Matt Hancock, to see if it can be used more widely across the NHS.
Justin Tomlinson said: “It was great to meet Rosemarie, and to see her very clever invention. I am very impressed with her initiative to create the board, and her drive to see it implemented in the GWH. It would be great to see this implemented more widely, and I hope the Health Secretary agrees.”
