With the appointment earlier this year of two new Matrons at Ashford and St. Peter’s, the hospitals Trust, which serves around 400,000 people in the Boroughs of Hounslow, Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Spelthorne, Woking and further afield, now has a full compliment of Matrons.    Sarah Hill has been appointed Matron for Wards at Ashford and Jill Hickman has been appointed Matron for Maple and May Wards at St. Peter’s.  The pair complete the now 17 strong team of Matrons across the Trust all working to improve patient care and improve the experience of being in hospital for patients in every way.   Along with their Consultant and Senior Nurse colleagues they provide leadership to the hundreds of nurses who work at Ashford and St. Peter’s and are celebrating International Nurses Day 2008 with a fun competition matching names to pictures of matrons in their early nursing days or other areas of their life.

The Matron role was introduced to the Trust in 2004 with just seven Matrons initially. The Matrons look after designated areas and work, with amongst others, the ward sisters, heads of nursing, doctors and housekeeping services to enhance the patient experience during their stay in hospital.  They provide clinical leadership and are responsible for the quality of patient care and patient experience within their areas including clinical standards and infection control standards. The Matrons regularly review the staff skill mix on the wards to ensure that there are adequate resources for getting the care right for each patient on the ward at the right time.

Director of Nursing and Operations, Michaela Morris comments: “The role of Matron is wide and varied. They ensure that patients’ privacy and dignity is protected during their stay in hospital and they have overall responsibility for ensuring nutrition standards for patients.  Making sure meals are delivered on time, at the correct temperatures and where necessary that patients who require help with eating receive it. They play an important part in infection control on the wards, working to nationally set standards established to ensure that there is a managed environment that minimises the risk of infection. Matrons also regularly review and monitor the housekeeping services to their wards and departments to ensure that the level of cleanliness is satisfactory.”

Diane Lashbrook, Matron for Outpatients said: “I cover all Outpatients daily activity for both hospitals ensuring that we have enough nurses to support Doctors and Patients.   We strive to make prompt appointments with the correct speciality. We are currently working hard to make more one stop clinics to prevent patients having to make several journeys.    I cover Pre- Assessment making sure patients get the correct checks to ensure they are fit for a general anaesthetic and their planned surgery. This is carried out on the day they see the consultant who places them on the waiting list. We note patient’s comments and recommendations to improve our service and we are always available to listen. Patients are the focus of our service and we will continue to improve our service to make a better experience for them.”

At Ashford and St. Peter’s Matrons act as drivers for change by being champions of good practice, leading by example so that they empower nurses to strive for higher standards and to make change happen.  They regularly audit standards of care, hospital cleanliness and patient feedback and then collate this information in order to determine how their area is performing and where improvements need to be made.

Michaela Morris, Director of Nursing and Operations continued: “The reintroduction of Matrons into the management of Ashford and St. Peter’s over the last four years has been a complete success story.    Standards of care have risen and infection rates have fallen.  The Matrons have been pivotal to making positive change over the last few years and will be a key part of the hospitals for the future.”