HILLINGDON Hospital is fulfilling the wish of a terminally-ill doctor to reach out to patients and treat them as “people and not their conditions”.

The ‘Hello my name is …’ campaign is the idea of clinician Kate Granger and is based on her personal experience as a cancer patient.

She noticed some staff didn’t introduce themselves or tell her what they were doing at her bedside.

This included a doctor not making eye contact after informing her there was no further effective treatment her hospital could offer before moving on to the next patient.

Kate, from Leeds, has since campaigned for NHS staff involved in day-to-day contact with patients to follow some basic rules that ensure patients are not simply defined by their condition.

This includes simply introducing themselves by name and position and briefly explaining what they are doing. This is applicable to clinical and non-clinical staff who interact with the public Shane DeGaris, chief executive of Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I appreciate many of our staff already greet and acknowledge patients but it is something we would like to see formally introduced.

“The campaign has already been adopted by a number of trusts around the UK and we want to join them as it reflects the ethos of our CARES initiative.

“It’s not rocket science, but it’s an important gesture that can make a big difference to our patients’ lives. We will be appealing to all our staff to support the scheme.”