Victoria Unit awarded Christie Quality Mark

Victoria Unit awarded Christie Quality Mark for second time

Staff from the Victoria Unit at the Royal Oldham Hospital are celebrating after being awarded the prestigious Christie Quality Mark accreditation for a second time.

The Christie Quality Mark offers assurance to patients that they will receive the highest standards of care. The accreditation means that patients can be confident that they are receiving the same high standard of care they would receive at the Christie in an external location closer to home.

The Victoria Unit was first awarded the quality mark in 2015 and staff have again been presented with a plaque and badges that highlight the prestigious seal of approval from the Christie.

The Christie Quality Mark was developed by the specialist cancer centre following months of research with patients about what they value and expect from Christie services.

The Christie set rigorous assessment criteria and teams are put through their paces by a review team, who spend a full afternoon in the chemotherapy clinic reviewing standards of care, the quality of the environment and overall patient experience. The visit is carried out by a team of people including external senior nurses, the Director of Nursing from the Christie, governors and patients.

Lindsey Dawson, Macmillan lead chemotherapy nurse, said: “We are delighted to be re-accredited with the quality mark. It has taken a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication from the whole team to ensure that our patients receive the highest quality of care in a safe and compassionate environment. It shows that we have not only maintained standards over the past three years since our initial accreditation, we have actually improved, which is a great achievement for the team.”

Nicola Firth, acting chief officer and director of nursing, said: “We always strive to give our patients high quality, personalised care and being awarded the Christie Quality Mark is a great endorsement of the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our staff. It recognises the continued dedication of the Victoria Unit team in providing the highest standards of patient care and this reaccreditation is richly deserved.”