Essence of Care is at the centre of everything we do at The Dudley Group of Hospitals. It underpins how strongly we believe that our patients are at the heart of everything we do.

Essence of Care was launched across the NHS in 2001 with the aim of increasing the quality of nursing care.

Essence of Care is made up of a set of 12 benchmarks, each of which underpin the best practice all of our patients should receive while receiving our services.

The 12 benchmarks are: (click on the links for more information)

• Respect and Dignity

• Communication

• Food and Drink

• Bowel and Continence Care

• Care Environment

• Pain Management

• Personal Hygiene

• Management of Pressure Ulcers

• Promoting Health and Wellbeing

• Record Keeping

• Safety

• Self-Care

We have implemented various initiatives within the Trust and undertake regular audits and reviews to establish standards which support continuous improvements in patient care.