Monthly Archives: February 2022

Business Advice

Growing a Start-Up: What New Leaders Need To Understand

Being the owner of a start-up company is no easy feat. There are so many factors to consider on a day-to-day basis that it is easy to see why many feel overwhelmed. Getting each detail right ensures the effective running of a business and, in extension, ensures that your company is turning over a profit. From your initial launch through to the present day, we feel confident that most business owners reading this and beyond have thought about what they can do to improve their company’s processes and rate of return but can also extend to include the growth of a start-up.

While new entrepreneurs will no doubt be proud of launching their start-up, there is always room to develop and learn new things, and this includes when it comes to the growth of a business. You might have some sort of understanding of what needs doing in the coming weeks and months, but nothing stops you from conducting your research and seeing what other people have to offer on the subject. With this in mind, we have compiled a list of what new leaders need to understand when growing their start-ups. Whether intending to do so in 2022 or the years beyond this, read on for more.

 

1. Think About How You Will Grow

It goes without saying, but when wanting to grow your company, you need to think about the ways in which you will do this right from the word go. While some businesses will have an understanding of areas in their company that require improvement, there will be others out there who are a bit less informed on this sort of thing. As a result, this should be your first step when looking to grow your business.

Understanding how to scale your business in the coming weeks and months will provide you with the information needed to make informed decisions based on this. Naturally, the actions that you must take when scaling your business are going to differ from those undertaken by other people. Still, nothing stops you from getting inspiration from others and their success.

Once you have thought about what you need to make improvements to in order to scale up your business, you are truly able to get the ball rolling. This takes us to the following section.

 

2. Think About What Tools And Resources You Need

Understandably, you might feel inclined to scale up your business off your own back and efforts, but you should do all you can to avoid this. While there is nothing to say that you don’t understand what needs doing, you might find that you are lacking in the skills or resources needed to scale up and grow your business. Let’s be honest; technology and other resources have proved time and time again their worth when it comes to business processes and growth.

While researching what needs improving or developing to scale up your company, you should also think about what you can use to do just this. Finding the right tools for the job will ensure that your efforts come to fruition and are not redundant in the short or long term. Acquiring these tools sooner rather than later is also worth considering and will leave minimal obstacles in your way.

 

3. Understand The Importance Of Teamwork

As mentioned previously, you might find yourself inclined to make the improvements yourself. There is nothing wrong with being protective over your company and its evident success. Still, it is also worth thinking about how a fresh pair of eyes and a second pair of hands can make a difference to your company’s ongoing success too. Talking to other people within your organisation will give you a better understanding of your company as a whole, but also with a different angle on the topic too.

Utilising the resources that are readily available in your business will make the scaling-up process run that bit smoother. Not to mention, getting other people involved in the process, either to assist with the entire process or for one part, will undoubtedly make them feel like valued members of the business. At the same time, delegating tasks within this process to other people will ease the pressure and stress that you are under, leaving you free to think about and focus on other important tasks that you will likely be juggling.

 

Growing a business is not easy, and new business leaders should be prepared for a long and often arduous process. While that is the case, it is also worth thinking about how worthwhile this process will be in the long run. The efforts you are putting in now will go a long way in developing your company as an industry leader and as someone providing an excellent service. Assess your efforts as they are ongoing and make tweaks wherever necessary, and you are sure to be well on the road to success.

News

The View from The Shard enhance experience by engaging ScentAir

– ScentAir’s tailored scent solution has enhanced The View from The Shard themed experiences, delivering an increase in visitor numbers and a 30% rise in dwell time

London, UK; 24th February 2022: The View from The Shard is working with scent marketing expert ScentAir to complete its all-encompassing themed experiences for visitors at the top of London’s tallest building.

ScentAir, which has a track record of enhancing customer experiences for over 25 years, and works with clients including Marriott, The White Company, and IKEA, has hand-picked key seasonal fragrances that complement and enhance the unique experience at The View from The Shard.

The first theme began in the summer of 2021 with ‘Avant Garden’, based on a summer garden accented with floral scents. For the winter months, ScentAir delivered a Nordic-inspired cranberry, apple and marmalade scent for The View from The Shard’s Aurora experience. These experiences have resulted in an uplift in visitors to The View from The Shard, together with a 30% increase in dwell time.

Iain Rogers, Head of Operations at The View from The Shard says “As a premium visitor experience, we chose to work with the leading scent marketing experts in the UK. ScentAir has proven to be highly adaptable and innovative in delivering a fragrance solution to meet our unique requirements.”

Luke Reilly, Head of Sales at The View from The Shard adds: “As the UK’s tallest building, we have a breath-taking view, but what better way to enhance this magical experience than adding a specific seasonal scent for our visitors to enjoy. It has had a dramatic effect on our visitor experience and resulted in more time spent in the venue. It’s fantastic to match our themes with incredible scents.”

Joanna Riordan, ScentAir’s (UK) Head of Customer Experience added: “This is such a prestigious venue to demonstrate the benefits of scent marketing, and we are delighted to partner with a team who are so creative. We are proud to demonstrate how our scent delivery solutions and fragrance expertise are able to enhance this unique landmark.”

Those wanting to visit The View from The Shard’s Aurora experience before 28th February can find last minute tickets here: https://www.theviewfromtheshard.com/book-tickets/

To find out more about the power of scent marketing, visit the ScentAir website here: https://scentair.com/en-gb

Charity & CSR, News

What you need to know if you are setting up a new charity

Running a charity is one of the most rewarding ventures as you commit your time and effort to making the lives of other people better.

There are plenty of personal benefits to running a charity, including meeting new people, feeling a sense of self-worth and doing something that you have a vested interest in.

The number of charities in the UK has been steadily rising so now appears to be as good a time as any to get involved.

Quite a lot goes into getting a new charitable organisation off the ground, so here are the main things you’ll want to consider.

Decide your purposes and structure

How your charity will be set up is the vital first step. Whether you refer to a purpose an objective or a mission, clearly defining what your charity is going to do and who it is going to help goes a long way.

Secondly, will you appoint trustees to run the charity or will you invite members to join and have a say in the activities of the charity? Similarly, will you decide to establish your charity as an incorporated organisation? Doing so can be a more complicated process but can strengthen your charity’s ability to make a difference.

Find trustees that share your passion

No matter the structure of your organisation you will need to appoint trustees.

These people should always look out for the best interests of the charity as well as ensuring that it is operating in an effective and legal way. Appointing at least one trustee with experience of the process is just as important as recruiting those who have a connection to your charity’s mission.

Research the financial side of things

Fundraising is the lifeblood of just about any charity as money can help to provide equipment or provisions for those that you are trying to help out.

Accounting is very important for charities and handling that side of things can be tricky as strict laws apply. Finding specialised charity solicitors to help with the legal side of things can make this process go much more smoothly.

Get registered

Once you have everything in place, it’s time to get your charity registered. Once registered with the Charity Commission you will be able to begin activities and start making a crucial difference in the lives of people who need it the most.

Cleaning & Facilities Management, News, Security, South East

TMS Protection selects SmartTask Mobile Ops to power ambitious expansion strategy

Security and Cleaning services group expands across South East with new office in London

Founded in 2013 TMS Protection specialises in training, management and security services for clients across the UK, including many local and national companies. With a client-focused ethos TMS Protection provides the full range of security services including; retail security, mobile security patrols, keyholding and alarm response, door supervisors, marshals and event staff. TMS is an SIA approved contractor for the provision of Security Guard, Door Supervision & Keyholding services and an official member of The National Association of Security Dog Users. TMS Cleaning, part of the TMS FM Group, provides professional, contract cleaning services, and is a member of CHAS and the Safe Contractor Scheme.

With Offices in Maidstone Kent and Bow London, TMS is ideally placed to service customers across the south east and Greater London.

SmartTask Workforce Management – Supporting rapid expansion

TMS Protection originally implemented SmartTask after an ACS audit, which highlighted that the company would benefit from a more comprehensive system to support the continued expansion of the business.

Now a seasoned user of SmartTask, the software is used by the head office team of 18, and provides a platform for a wide range of workforce management functionality including automated designing of shifts and rosters, holiday and absence management, and check/welfare calls via an automated system with alerts when calls are missed.  The system is used by the Control Room to manage alarm responses and keyholding services, allocate ad-hoc jobs, and to follow up on missed check/welfare calls.  SmartTask logs hours and services provided for customers, provides proof of attendance, and helps to automate the production of invoices.

During the event season (May to October) up to 200 officers in the field are able to check their shifts and request holiday from their phones with just a couple of clicks.  No need to email or phone the office.

Managing Director Tom Devine explains; “Our reputation is incredibly important to us and as a customer-focused business, our people are our biggest asset.  If we can make life easier for them, they will provide a better service to our customers. SmartTask quite simply streamlines operations so that mundane tasks are quick and easy for all our staff.”

Mobile Ops – Better for Customers, Better for Employees

The next logical step was to extend the solution to cover Mobile Patrols. Using SmartTask officers are sent jobs such as locks/unlocks and alarm responses, and are able to accept them via the app.  They are sent detailed instructions for the job and complete forms once the task is complete. The Control Room has complete visibility of who is dealing with which job or incident.

“Thanks to SmartTask Smart Forms, the officer simply completes the form on their mobile and the building owner or manager is automatically alerted by email in realtime, giving them complete peace of mind that any situation is being dealt with by TMS.  We are also using Smart Forms to deliver additional services to customers, for example, fire alarm testing. It’s a real USP for us!”, Tom added.

Expansion into Greater London – Keyholding services

TMS recently opened a second office in Bow to support its fast growing business within Greater London. As well as a ‘shop window’, training centre and meeting space for both TMS Protection and TMS Cleaning, the new office also serves as a hub for keyholding. SmartTask helps manage TMS’ Keyholding services in line with BS7984-3 2020. Keys are booked onto the system, seal numbers and location are tracked and keys are signed in and out, creating an audit trail.

TMS and SmartTask– a one-stop-shop

TMS’s cleaning division has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years. TMS is able to offer a complete package which many customers prefer, as they are able to deal with just one supplier. Similarly, account managers at TMS can use the SmartTask system for both sides of the business.  This saves time for staff, it provides a single source for any customer information, and provides Tom and his management team with accurate reporting that covers the entire business on which to base decisions.

Tom Devine said: “We are very excited to have opened our new premises in London, it is a huge part of our expansion plans. Being able to offer our clients a one-stop-shop for all of their security, guarding, incident response, keyholding, event management, cleaning and janitorial services, has enabled us to win larger contracts. SmartTask has been a key partner in enabling this expansion with a flexible solution that supports our business as we continue to grow and evolve.”

For more information please visit: www.smarttask.co.uk

Marketing, PR and SEO, News, North of England

Leeds agency introduces four day working week

Award-winning brand communications agency, Principles will introduce a four day working week for all employees on 1st April 2022. 

The new changes will see staff enjoying more time off work without sacrificing their pay. Senior management at Principles anticipate that the shortened week will increase productivity by up to 40% and enhance overall staff wellbeing. 

Director at Principles agency, Mike Hackett, said: “Our main driver behind the four day week is to future proof our business and create a better place to work, as well as an excellent work-life balance for all our people. We believe the new way of working will allow Principles to attract and retain the best talent in the industry, as well as boost creativity and outputs for clients. We discussed making these changes long before the pandemic, but the national lockdowns have been a real trigger for rethinking the world of work.”

Principles Agency is the latest of a handful of businesses in the UK to join the four day week movement. A six-month pilot programme launched in the UK earlier this year, which sees 30 firms allowing staff to work less hours per week whilst leaving their benefits and compensation unchanged¹.

Mike continued: “Our people are our greatest asset and we’ve been listening to their feedback over the last eighteen months, which has mainly focussed on the need for a more flexible way of working following the Covid-19 pandemic. We do not want to sacrifice the fantastic culture we’ve built at Principles with fully remote working. In our sector, we believe that collaboration and effective communication is the key to facilitating creativity and excellent work. However, we understand that the world of work has changed significantly, and people are looking for agencies which are able to embrace new ways of working. 

“Staff wellbeing and job satisfaction is of utmost importance to us and so we hope that the four day week will provide them with the flexibility they need to catch-up on life and support their overall personal growth.”

Principles Agency will trial the four day week for three months, monitoring team feedback and productivity throughout that time. Staff will work a combination of Monday to Thursdays and Tuesdays to Fridays from 9am to 5.30pm, resulting in a 30 hour week  for everyone. 

Based in Headingley, award-winning Principles comprises 20 members of staff across multiple teams with specialisms including brand communications, digital marketing and consumer insight. 

The agency, which celebrated its 35th birthday last year, is undertaking a recruitment drive in 2022, planning to fulfill roles across all levels of client services, creative and digital marketing, including junior marketing executives to art director.  

Principles Agency has built insight-led marketing strategies for a multitude of high profile clients since it was established in 1986 including the NHS, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Ronseal, Valspar, Lyons Coffee, Seabrook Crisps, Ideal Heating and many more. 

News

Companies take action to ‘build back better’ – 9 in 10 now adopt ESG into corporate strategy

Despite the financial impact experienced by many organisations during the pandemic, 9 in 10 companies across the UK, US and Canada now adopt ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations into their corporate strategy. Two thirds (67%) invest in systems and technology to obtain data and make progress measurable, according to new global research by market-leading Health, Safety and ESG risk management provider Alcumus.

The trend is more pronounced among larger companies with 250 staff or more. Among those, 94% adopt ESG, and 71% have invested in systems and technology to capture data. While this is encouraging, half (49%) feel deterred from investing more into ESG. This is mainly due to a lack of technical understanding and guidance from regulators, named by 77% and 73% respectively.

David Picton, SVP of Sustainability at Alcumus says: These are still tough times, but companies are not just in survival mode, there is a clear focus on ‘building back better’ post-pandemic. Many are using the situation as a catalyst to revisit viability of their business models and make changes to thrive in the future. Addressing ESG plays a key part in this, but to demonstrate long-term impact and change it is critical to have data and evidence.”

Among the 10% not currently incorporating ESG into their corporate strategy, two in five (43%) are looking to act within the next three years, and for good reason.

ESG impact is driving action, but challenges remain

The impact of ESG on companies surveyed is significant. Two in three (65%) report a large or very large impact, rising to three in four (73%) among larger businesses with over 250 employees. The majority (67%) expect this to increase in the years to come.

It is therefore not surprising that many companies have structured systems in place already to assess the three elements of ESG. Over half of respondents (53%, rising to 57% among larger firms) do and, of those who don’t, two thirds (66%) plan to introduce one. What’s particularly encouraging to see is that one in five respondents (21%) have even established science-based targets (SBTs), and equal amounts have decided not to bid for work on ESG grounds.

But despite systems and measurement in place, challenges remain. Across the board, the most significant challenges named by companies when it comes to ESG reporting are the increase of hybrid working, accessing data across the organisation and supply chain, and a lack of necessary tools and technology, named by 45%, 43%, 38% and 29% of respondents respectively. As a result, a data gap remains.

David Picton, SVP of Sustainability at Alcumus, says: “Organisations are realising that without meaningful ESG standards they will struggle to attract customers, investors or employees in the future. ESG adoption is clearly now an irreversible global trend, but data will make all the difference to the credibility and authenticity of ESG reporting. Companies recognise this and as an industry we must work with them to make it happen.”

“At Alcumus we are leading the way with ESG data visibility, quality, transparency and the integration to operational processes. Our new management and analytics platform tracks 11 key ESG aspects, including Modern Slavery, Carbon, Waste, Anti-Bribery and Social Value – it’s the first of its kind to link material ESG factors such as these together into a single platform, aligned to international best practice to help larger companies to get better and smaller ones to get started.”

 

Appointments, News

Pole Star Make Senior Appointment To Steer Strategy & Grow Brand

Pole Star appoint Noyonika Bhaduri as VP Marketing to continue the company’s ongoing senior team expansion following growth investment.

Pole Star is pleased to announce the appointment of Noyonika Bhaduri as Vice President & Global Head of Marketing. As part of the executive leadership team, Bhaduri will be responsible for overseeing the execution of Pole Star’s global growth strategy. Bhaduri brings 13 years of strong SaaS tech expertise to lead Pole Star’s marketing team and drive revenue through development of a high-performance demand generation capability, expansion of brand presence, targeted campaigns, and increase in the company’s global presence.

Previously Chief Strategy Officer at Blend Media, a specialist in VR content, and Global Marketing Director for analytics technology company, MiQ, Bhaduri comes equipped with a wealth of knowledge in driving growth through marketing, sales, and customer success. Bhaduri has implemented and driven successful strategic roadmaps across Europe, North America, and APAC for several fast-moving companies: a key strength to bring to the table as Pole Star continues to innovate and provide leading maritime intelligence solutions.

After receiving significant investment from Wavecrest Growth Partners, Abry Partners, and its principal shareholders last year, Pole Star has accelerated its product development, allowing for future progression and technological enhancements. Now, with Bhaduri onboard, marketing strategy is the next incremental step in the company’s development in order to solidify Pole Star’s competitive positioning, key product messaging, and markets.

Bhaduri says, “Pole Star is a leader in its space, and I’m incredibly excited to join the company and work alongside a team of the highest calibre industry experts to take it to the next level. My mission is to help increase the efficiency and transparency of maritime trade by bringing our maritime intelligence offerings to the fore and growing Pole Star’s global market presence.”

With collaboration at Pole Star’s core, a principle that emerges throughout the company in the form of business alliances, technological partnerships, and the interoperability and development of its products, the business is lined up to advance globally. And, with the London headquarters soon to relocate to a new office specifically designed to support and enhance collaboration and teamwork, there is no end in sight for Pole Star’s ability to innovate and progress.

CEO, Julian Longson, says, “As we continue to keep our feet firmly on the accelerator pedal, bringing Noyonika onboard will widen our audience reach and deliver our brand and solution’s to those that need them. Our work towards safe, compliant, and sustainable maritime transport and trade has already begun, but the strategic changes and new hires that we’ve made as a company over the past year will only bolster this process. We welcome Noyonika to the team and are confident that she can help take Pole Star to the next level.”

 

About Pole Star

Pole Star is a leading maritime intelligence technology company, developing solutions to protect our customers’ vessels, people, reputation, and financial investments. Since 1998, we have pushed the limits of innovation, working with governments and businesses across the supply chain to mitigate the growing threats to ships, supply chains, cargo, territorial waters and, most importantly, lives within the maritime infrastructure and beyond. Our wide range of solutions are designed specifically to enable time-critical decisions and mitigate risk across all facets of maritime activity – from cross-border trade, to sustainability risk, to the monitoring of territorial waters, and everything in between.

Finance and Banking, News

New research shows angel investors make an average of 14.7% return when investing into start ups

Envestors, the marketplace for early-stage investing, has announced the results of its research into the Real Returns of Angel Investing.

An analysis of the portfolios of nearly 50 experienced angel investors found a weighted average Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 14.7%.

Of the £75.4m invested by study participants, the value of exited and existing portfolio companies totalled £208.5m*, resulting in a gain of £133.1m.

Figures exclude the tax benefits offered by the Seed and Enterprise Investment Schemes, which when tallied would increase the results

The portfolio across participants included over £75m in investments in over 1,660 early-stage businesses.

  • 89% of respondents showed a net gain
  • 11% of respondents showed a net loss
  • 173 of the businesses had exited while 368 had failed and 1,119 were still in play

Participants were required to have invested a minimum of £250k in at least five companies over a ten-year period. Results, therefore, reflect the average returns of private investors who have built a portfolio of early-stage investments over time.

Oliver Woolley, CEO of Envestors and an active angel himself said, “The results are really enlightening. Angel investing is known for being high risk, but what the study is clearly showing is that it can be very lucrative.

“We’ve been helping to match companies and investors for nearly 15 years, and we’ve had our share of winners and losers, Chargemaster’s recent sale to BP for £129m being a standout success. What’s clear is that if you approach investing carefully, work with a regulated network and build a diverse portfolio, it can pay off.”

Investing into early-stage businesses does carry risk and some study participants (11%) made a negative return.

When asked for advice, study participants offered the following:

  • ‘Spread your risk, recognise that many will fail (including those you rated as relatively low risk), and crucially, remember the time for the successful ones to provide an exit opportunity is many times longer than predicted by the company at the time you first invest.’
  • ‘Meet the CEO.  If you’re not seeing the CEO, there’s a big problem.’
  • On finding good deals, the unanimous advice was to work with an established network
  • Lastly, they stressed the importance of strong leadership teams, ‘The entrepreneur(s), are they leaders, driven, committed, experienced Do they have the qualities necessary to build a large and successful business?’

Envestors, which has matched £100m+ of investment into over 200 companies, is regulated by the FCA and supports investors with deal flow and full detailed information on every deal via its platform. To view deals and register please visit envestors.co.uk

*  Value of exited deals: £61.2m. Plus estimated value of existing portfolio, based upon recent fundraisings or events to justify a revaluation of shares: £147.3m

About Envestors

Envestors’ digital investment platform brings together entrepreneurs and investors across geographies, communities and sectors – creating the single marketplace for early stage investment in the UK.

Envestors partners with accelerators, incubators and angel networks to provide a white-label platform empowering them to promote deals, engage investors and connect to other networks.

Founded in 2004, Envestors has helped more than 200 high growth businesses raise more than £100m through its own private investment club.

Envestors is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Web: https://www.envestors.co.uk/

News, Tech

Identity and Access Management Survey Finds 45% of Organisations Have Deployed an Enterprise Password Management Solution

LastPass, the global leader in password management, today released the findings of an IDC Global Survey on Identity and Access Management by LastPass. The survey revealed that “balancing company security requirements and the employee user experience” is the number one identity challenge, followed by “employees struggling with too many passwords.”

As organisations continue to face the challenges of managing a higher volume of remote employees who need to access different tools and systems outside of a traditional office, leaders can no longer rely on pre-pandemic protocols, policies and infrastructures to keep online data secure. According to the survey, 83% of the organisations who have suffered a security breach believe the breach resulted from a compromised password or identity compromise such as phishing, highlighting a greater need for organisations to adopt identity and access management solutions that work with all employees, are capable of securing every credential in the company, and promote the right security behaviours.

With employees continuing to struggle with having to remember upwards of 50-120 passwords, enabling a password manager creates a universal and user-friendly solution to allow employees to securely access the tools they need to effectively do their job. Adopting a password management solution puts the employee in control, helping to drive security awareness and transforming users into one of the strongest defences against potential security threats.

“Identity and access controls are core components for addressing many future-of-work imperatives. As the number of daily login events rises, the user experience increases in importance. Enterprise password management (EPM) addresses security requirements while providing a consistent and comfortable user experience,” said Mark Child, Research Manager at IDC. “It’s imperative that organisations put in place a universal and user-friendly solution to enable all their employees to securely access the tools they need to do their jobs, regardless of where that may be. Security controls need to be transparent and manageable for all users.”

Additional key findings from the IDC InfoBrief, Enabling the Future of Work with EPM, Identity and Access Controls, include:

  • Password managers remain a valuable addition for organisations wanting extra layers of protection and user convenience. With deployment at 45% of respondent organisations, Password Managers are the most widely used identity and access management solutions.
  • Organisations looking for budget friendly, low complexity solutions that deliver robust security for the hybrid work environment are leveraging Enterprise Password Management. With 45% of companies saying that more complex identity solutions such as SSO and MFA are nice to have, they share that they do not currently have the budget or resources for these types of solutions.
  • 98% of respondents said that remote work has impacted their security operations. The top reasons for this include inadequate security on home networks, remote workers being targeted specifically by cybercriminals, employees accessing corporate data/applications on inadequately protected devices, and poor password hygiene.

“Long gone are the days of workers being tied to their desks, and this new environment is bringing even newer security challenges for companies. This latest survey explores the future of work and how businesses can expand their security amid rising identity attacks in the industry,” said Katie Petrillo, Director of Product Marketing for LastPass. “As we look to the future of the workplace, employers who embrace deploying a single, user-friendly solution will help ease the employee experience, which is why password managers are fundamental to securing identity and access within an organisation.”

For more information, visit: Enabling the Future of Work with EPM, Identity and Access Controls

Eyecare, Healthcare, News

New initiative lifts barriers to cataract care for people with disabilities and dementia

Picture books, videos and personalised tools – SpaMedica rolls out scheme to benefit vulnerable NHS cataract patients across country

A new initiative is raising the bar in supporting people with disabilities and healthcare conditions, such as dementia, who require cataract surgery.

Two healthcare workers at SpaMedica’s Newcastle-Under-Lyme hospital are behind the transformed approach, after observing first-hand how some of the most vulnerable NHS patients struggle with the journey of undergoing cataract surgery.

Registered nurse Kerry Harrison and senior healthcare technician Hannah Young made it their mission to tailor the hospital experience, identifying new ways of adapting practice to better address the challenges and anxieties faced by those who found it hard to read or understand the standard materials used to describe the surgical process.

The fruits of their labour – overhauling procedures to set new standards of care – have now been introduced across all SpaMedica’s 37 hospitals.

Before joining the UK-leading cataract surgery provider, Kerry worked in the NHS and in a private hospital for 13 years across all aspects from surgery, including ophthalmology. In her role at SpaMedica, she accompanies NHS patients through the entire process, from admission to discharge – and the focus, Kerry says, is always on the person.

“Every patient is different,” she explains. “Although they go through the same procedure, we might have a patient with mobility problems, or they might have dementia, or maybe there’s a language barrier. What is critical is our commitment to treat everyone as an individual. It’s patient-centred care, rather than just ticking a box to get the surgery successfully completed.”

Unlike Kerry, Hannah Young, aged 24, had no previous ophthalmology experience when she joined the SpaMedica team. But with a background as a carer in a specialist home for people with dementia, Hannah recognised there was an opportunity to go above and beyond, by tailoring their support for patients who are more vulnerable.

“Although there was some specialised care in place, for me, based on my background and also my personal experience – my sister is disabled – I felt there was even more that could be done,” explains Hannah.

“When a patient with a disability came into the hospital, I found it really difficult to not get involved in their care, making sure they fully understood all that was involved and they were comfortable. I felt like something more could be done that would guarantee that specific needs are identified early on, ensuring that the patient is 100% supported.”

Kerry adds: “What highlighted it to me, particularly, was when a patient with learning disabilities visited us for an appointment, accompanied by a social worker. This lady was illiterate so she couldn’t read the materials we’ve developed to ensure our patients know what will happen before, during and after their surgery.

“Rather than follow what would be a traditional pre-assessment for her, we tailored our care and did a completely different assessment, which focused on her emotional needs and any triggers that might make her upset. That’s when I realised there was an opportunity to introduce a more bespoke and flexible model that would make a real difference to patients who need our care and attention the most.”

As part of the initiative, Hannah and Kerry have designed picture books, describing the patient journey from pre-assessment, to surgery, to post-op care, using photographs taken around the hospital.

“We had a patient with disabilities visit us soon after we made these books and he confided that he hadn’t slept for two days because he was so worried about coming,” says Hannah.

“He told us that he liked to know what was going on, but he didn’t always understand what was happening. By seeing it for himself in this picture book, it helped him to relax. And he was able to keep referring to it when he became anxious. He said it made a huge difference to how calm he felt going to theatre.”

Kerry adds: “For our female patient who’d been joined by her social worker, we recognised that she would be unable to read our discharge instruction leaflet, so we developed her a personalised video, because she loved to watch television. In it we described post-operative care by recreating the act of taking off her eye patch and how to administer eye drops. Her social worker assisted by setting an alarm on her mobile for her, which prompted her to watch the video every day. It meant she could handle her post-surgery care herself and keep a sense of independence, which is hugely important.”

Both Hannah and Kerry recognise that it is thanks to SpaMedica’s work environment that they’ve been empowered to develop the programme.

“SpaMedica treats thousands of NHS patients for cataract surgery so we were proud to be able to channel our time and resources to implement this kind of personalised programme of care,” says Kerry. “If we can accommodate those who are more vulnerable and ensure their experience is top level, then that’s what we’ll do. It’s about giving them emotional support as well as physical.”

Official versions of Hannah and Kerry’s picture books have now been produced and distributed to all SpaMedica hospitals. “We didn’t expect it to go around the entire business,” adds Hannah. “I think that’s what I love most about working here. It’s the recognition this project has had. It’s gone so far from an idea in my head. It’s making such a difference to patients.”

Kerry echoes Hannah’s comments, adding: “We’ve had patients cry tears of joy when they come out of theatre, because they’re absolutely over the moon and we’ve all stood there crying with them. And that’s what it’s about – the personal touch. The patient is never just a number; we make sure their care is bespoke.

“We all work hard together to achieve the same goal, which is patient satisfaction. It’s like seeing a miracle unfold before your eyes.”