Feedback tool Laudit enables NHS staff to officially thank colleagues

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a sharp rise in colleagues praising each other using Laudit at the Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Whilst many NHS staff receive thanks from grateful patients for the care they provide, there is often no formal process for staff to recognise their colleagues.

That’s why Dr Will Davies, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, developed Laudit (formerly called Laudix).

The Laudit digital platform is a reporting portal to enable the recognition and celebration of the everyday extraordinary measures that both clinical and non-clinical staff within an organisation take on their day-to-day work.

The coronavirus pandemic has seen many NHS staff go above and beyond all expectations and this has been reflected in the praise shared through Laudit, as the 2000th submission was made through the platform this month after a huge rise in use from March onwards.

Dr Davies explains the impact Laudit is having at the trust:

“Research has shown that praise from peers can dramatically increase motivation and performance, which is why I wanted to make it as simple as possible for staff in the hospital to recognise colleagues who go the extra mile. I’m delighted that during what has been a difficult time for NHS staff, people have taken the time to thank each other.”

The cloud-based tool collects all the feedback and can generate regular reports for each department which are then shared with managers and staff. It also means the feedback is logged and can be used in appraisals and during clinical staff re-validation meetings. The CQC recognised Laudit as an example of outstanding practice during their recent review of Royal Papworth.

Health Innovation East has been supporting Laudit since Dr Davies attended one of our clinical entrepreneur events, assisting the continued development of the innovation with a new web-based app.

Jo Dempsey, Commercial Lead at Health Innovation East, said:

“Praising staff isn’t just a wonderful thing to do, it can improve productivity and support effective team working which underpins the values of the NHS Constitution. It’s such a simple idea and I would love to see Laudit adopted across the wider NHS.”

References

Green, Francesca and Staats. (2017). Seeking to Belong: How the Words of Internal and External Beneficiaries Influence Performance. Harvard Business School Working Paper Number: HBS Working Paper #17-073