Health and social care workers across Devon showed just how committed they are to providing dignified and respectful services.

Over fifty pledges were received from staff renewing their commitment individually and as teams.

Written pledges included:

• All staff at Seaton hospital are committed in ensuring that your privacy and dignity will be maintained. We always respect individual needs, as each person is of equal importance to us.
  Staff at Seaton Hospital
• I feel dignity at work is respecting the feelings and wishes of patients, their relatives, and other staff members.
  Natasha Baker, Healthcare Assistant
• To continue working with Age Concern regional support services to promote dignity challenges wherever we can
  The Tiverton branch of Age Concern
• To continue to keep dignity at the forefront of carers support in mid Devon and to work in partnership with mental health colleagues delivering dementia care in Tiverton
  Carol Benn, Chair of the Carers Support organisation in Tiverton called UNITE
• I pledge to:

1. respect all my patients irrespective of their age, gender, sexuality, culture, ethnicity, psychological or physical need
2. never to enter their personal space through closed curtains or doors unannounced
3. always to ask them what they prefer to be called
4. make use of quiet rooms to discuss personal or sensitive issues as much as possible
5. challenge poor practice should I ever witness it.

Traci-ann Yelland, staff nurse at Okehampton Community hospital

• I pledge to:

1. respect everyone for who they are regardless of ethnicity, age, sex and abilities
2. disregard age as a factor in my daily work and dealings with others

Wendy Bellamy, matron at Okehampton Community hospital

• We Pledge to treat people of all ages with the same patience and understanding
  The administration team, Okehampton Community hospital
• We pledge to treat all patients, relatives and staff members with dignity and respect.
  The Hotel Services Assistants on Twyford Ward at Tiverton and District hospital
• We will continue to ensure the greatest privacy and respect to all our patients. We are aware that the greatest threat to this is that we have curtains between cubicles. We minimize the risks to privacy by using opposite ends of the department wherever possible, by using the radio as background noise, and by using a private room where necessary.
  Teresa Denning, locality business manager at Axminster and Seaton hospital
  Eileen Simmonds, matron at Axminster hospital
• We pledge that screens will be provided to preserve patients' privacy and dignity while they are having baseline investigations carried out.
  Reablement service, Whipton hospital, Exeter
• I pledge that we will consider the diverse needs of all our patients and staff equitably when delivering new and existing services.
  Andrew Barge, equality and human rights manager, NHS Devon
• I pledge to consider the impact of any decisions I make on patients privacy and dignity
  Angela Edmunds
• Pledge to maintain, promote and deliver person centred dignified care
  Community nurses of St Thomas health centre - Tim Dentith – community nurse, Karin Prior – Healthcare Assistant, July Parnell – community nurse, Bonnie Elworthy – community nurse, Maria Winter – nurse specialist community, Kim Smaldon – community nurse
• The community nurse team at St Thomas have been embedding the RCN dignity ‘at the hear of everything we do’. They are embedding the principles of this in practice, DVD and toolkit is being used.
• We pledge to:

1. we will help patients and their representatives to sort out any issues they have about their GP, dentist, community pharmacist or optician where care has gone wrong, in a manner that will maintain a good relationship with the practice where they received the care
2. we will make our processes as user friendly and unbureaucratic as possible
3. we will act in an impartial manner, and not take sides to promote a fair investigation in to the issues raised
4. we will use the poor experiences of our local population as a means to improve services

Information governance team, NHS Devon

• I will do my utmost to provide the information requested under Freedom of Information as completely and quickly as possible
  Phil Stimpson, information governance manager, NHS Devon
• Privacy and dignity is about being sensitive to individual patient needs. It’s about honour, esteem and respect. It should be at the very core of every caring organisations culture. My pledge is I will try to ensure these values are at the very heart of everything that we in business services do, whether that is providing buildings, accommodation, cleaning, catering, patient safety or other such services.
  Pat Mcdonagh, assistant director of business support
• My dignity pledge as a lead for nursing is that I believe dignity and respect is at the core of all nursing care.
  We expect all nurses to ensure that patients within our care are treated as individuals in their own right with appropriate dignity and respect. I pledge to support and drive these standards in all of our community hospitals and communities.
  Julie Mitchell, head of professional practice – nursing  
• My pledge is to ensure that carers are always involved as "expert partners" in the delivery of treatment and care (following my parents recent and positive experience of my mothers discharge from one of our community hospitals).
  Sally Slade, managing director for health and social care delivery
• I will work to ensure that all people who need health and social care services are treated with dignity and respect, particularly at times when they are powerless
  Paul Grimsey, Dignity in Care Champion and Policy Manager
• I will do my very best to ensure everyone who calls me has fair access to care
  Anna Knight, Assessment and Review Team Worker
• I will be working hard to ensure that all people with social care needs have greater control over choosing how, when and where and by whom that their support is arranged.
  Pauline Shields, Senior Communication Officer