NHS Confederation responds to announcement on measuring compassion from health secretary
NHS confederation logo for press releases
Wednesday, 18, Jun 2008 12:00
Responding to the announcement, Steve Barnett, acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents over 95 per cent of NHS organisations says:
“There is no quick fix for compassion. Addressing the problem of compassion in the NHS is a wide cultural, leadership and management issue. It is also an issue for every professional.
“It will be very difficult to measure and benchmark compassion – particularly at the level of the ward. We do need to improve the measures we use to assess the quality of nursing but the element of compassion is not easily quantified. It is much more straightforward to measure clinical outcomes and it is invaluable to get feedback from patients. We need to start by using and refining existing measures before we consider new ones.
“The measures must be owned at local level, backed up with training and support.”
The Confederation has highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach to compassion in its futures debate paper for its annual conference which opens in Manchester. The paper is entitled ‘Compassion in healthcare – the missing dimension of healthcare reform?’ and will be debated at the conference this week.
The key points were:
Care, compassion and some aspects of basic care delivery appear under strain in health systems around the world.
Individuals, including clinicians, can feel powerless to raise concerns.
Aligning policy, leadership and practice can make real, practical differences to the way in which patients are cared for.
Putting compassion and care back into healthcare requires action at system level; by organisational leaders; and by individuals
The author of the paper, Robert Youngson, -founder of the Centre for Compassion in Healthcare, identifies the things which he believes will help strengthen compassion:
Declare compassion as a core value
Reward rather than punish compassionate caring
Hone communication and relationship skills
Provide space for staff to discuss difficult issues
Challenge models of professionalism
Hard-wire new behaviours
Declare compassion as a management and leadership competence
Engage health consumers in the change
Steve Barnett said, “In his prescription for compassion, Robin argues for something emotionally engaging and personal that speaks to the basic values of staff and professionals: the need to focus on nurturing a humane quality of understanding suffering in others and the desire to do something about it.”
The NHS Confederation and NHS Employers are also undertaking work on the role of the nurse.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
1. The NHS Confederation represents more than 95% of the organisations that make up the NHS. Its members include the majority of NHS acute trusts, ambulance trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
2. The NHS Confederation annual conference and exhibition 2008, Delivering the future today, is taking place on 18th-20th June at Manchester Central.
3. Compassion in healthcare: The missing dimension of healthcare reform? is available here, part of the NHS Confederation futures debate series is designed to stimulate new thinking on future challenges to the health service
4. Contact Niall Smith 020 7074 3304 or 07767 770309, Ruth Kennedy 020 7074 3312 or 07884 47 3086, or Ruby Casey-Knight 020 7074 3306 or 07881 957305. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
Ruth Kennedy
Media Relations Officer
DDI: 020 7074 3312
Mobile: 07884 473 086
www.nhsconfed.org
Delivering the future today
NHS Confederation annual conference and exhibition 2008
18 – 20 June 2008, Manchester
www.nhsconfed.org/2008
AMBEX 2008
The international forum for emergency and urgent care
24 - 26 June 2008, Harrogate
www.ambex.net
NHS Employers annual conference and exhibition 2008
4 – 6 November 2008, Birmingham
www.nhsemployers.org/2008
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