Hospitals 'losing their compassion'
Tuesday, December 30 09:06 am
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NHS hospitals are losing their compassion, the head of a health thinktank has warned.
Tuesday, December 30 09:06 am
Print Story
NHS hospitals are losing their compassion, the head of a health thinktank has warned.
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the King's Fund, blamed work pressures, shorter stays in hospital and the greater complexity of medical challenges for staff behaving in a less feeling way.
He said compassion should be a key priority for the boards of every NHS hospital.
The draft constitution of the NHS identifies compassion as one of the six values of the service, explaining: "We find the time to listen and talk when it is needed, make the effort to understand, and get on and do the small things that mean so much - not because we are asked to but because we care."
The King's Fund is piloting a project in a number of hospitals to try to encourage staff to focus on being compassionate.
Under the "Schwartz round" scheme, staff from different disciplines get together once a month to discuss areas where they have experienced difficulties.
Mr Dickson said: "I have very little doubt that we've seen a deterioration in the level of compassion that is shown by staff to patients.
"The board of every hospital should be looking at this as one of their top priorities - what is it like for someone who's coming in to be treated, and how can we improve that experience?
"It's to do with staff facing very difficult situations - because patients are sicker and hospital stays are shorter - rather than them all turning into nasty people.
"If we can't get compassion into our healthcare, the system is failing. It's as fundamental as that."
He said compassion should be a key priority for the boards of every NHS hospital.
The draft constitution of the NHS identifies compassion as one of the six values of the service, explaining: "We find the time to listen and talk when it is needed, make the effort to understand, and get on and do the small things that mean so much - not because we are asked to but because we care."
The King's Fund is piloting a project in a number of hospitals to try to encourage staff to focus on being compassionate.
Under the "Schwartz round" scheme, staff from different disciplines get together once a month to discuss areas where they have experienced difficulties.
Mr Dickson said: "I have very little doubt that we've seen a deterioration in the level of compassion that is shown by staff to patients.
"The board of every hospital should be looking at this as one of their top priorities - what is it like for someone who's coming in to be treated, and how can we improve that experience?
"It's to do with staff facing very difficult situations - because patients are sicker and hospital stays are shorter - rather than them all turning into nasty people.
"If we can't get compassion into our healthcare, the system is failing. It's as fundamental as that."
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