Kissing it Better

Who we are

Kissing it Better started in 2011 - we have worked in over 25 hospital and care settings and , for a small charity, have achieved a high profile for our highly practical approach and the strong inter-generational element of our work. Our passion is for innovating in care settings by using community capacity to achieve results – leading to national awards for both Patient experience and for Leadership in Innovation. We have also successfully engaged with policymakers through early Cabinet Office funding and the engagement with Department of Health at ministerial level.

KIB has received strong encouragement from leaders in the NHS , Further Education and organisations working with NEETS (including The Prince’s Trust) to accelerate our volunteering and learning programme. We have also support Rank Foundation and from Lord Digby Jones [past Director General of the CBI and a College chairman]

Our approach is unique in the way it seeks to triangulate student experience/development with the needs of an ageing population in hospital and care settings. For us, the benefits are clear and particularly timely – summarised as ;

• helping transform patient experience through inspirational teaching and using student skills in a structured way to support an NHS and wider Care system under the sustained pressures of an ageing population and an increasing prevalence of dementia
• contributing strongly to the learning and personal development of students of all disciplines to build their self–confidence , ready them for employment and give them a sense of public service
• to inspire care/clinical staff by demonstrating the wider needs of patients in terms of readiness to return home from hospital or to improve their experience of their care settings

Feedback from Colleges/Schools staff has been outstanding in terms of the benefits of giving their students structured programmes of volunteering based activities. The same can be said for feedback from patients and their families and Care staff.