2. Introduction – Emma’s story

Ward rounds can cause a great deal of frustration for service users, carers and staff. We've undertaken a project known as The Ideal Ward Round. During our research we found there was little consistency across hospitals or NHS Trusts in mental health settings. Therefore, we've developed a series of guidelines to help those who participate in ward rounds, to try to ensure best experience for all involved, and particularly for the service user and their families or carers.

In this resource, we'll present the 12 recommendations that make up the guidelines. You can take a look at these here. We'll also illustrate their use by following Emma's story in more detail to see how they can be applied.

First, let's listen to Emma's story.