Case study – Leading UK Hospice

Business need

In 2008 this hospice had been undergoing major change. In particular two wards had shut down for refurbishment and then reopened. While the refurbishments were underway, the senior management team of the hospice wanted to give the nursing staff of these wards the opportunity to improve their working relationships, improve working processes, systems and procedures and reward them with a fun activity.

Solution

MaST consultant Jonathan Chalstrey worked with the ward managers to devise and deliver ward teambuilding events which helped nurses to understand their personal working style(s) and those of their colleagues, learn ways to resolve differences of opinion in a constructive way. They were also given an opportunity to try out techniques for brainstorming and evaluating ideas for improving processes. Lastly, the events encouraged fun with paint!

Outcomes

By the end of the events, both ward teams had learned about each other’s working styles and how to communicate more effectively. They had produced and evaluated a swathe of ideas for improving processes for implementation at future team meetings and learned some useful problem solving and decision making techniques.

The teams also produced giant versions of Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn Munro and Campbell’s tinned soup lithographs which they hung in the refurbished wards to remind them of the event.