Cultivating Compassionate Care: Why Does it Matter and What Can We Do to Promote It?

Abstract

How compassionate is our NHS?' was held on 13 March 2017 at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Declaration of interests No conflicts of interest declared 'You can't look at compassion in healthcare without looking at compassion in society.' John Carnochan Perhaps a good sign for an event designed to trigger debate is when, prior to it beginning, you need to change the title. 'How compassionate is our NHS?' Or the reformed title, 'How compassionate is our health and social care?' was jointly organised by Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh's Global Compassion Initiative and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman's Offi ce. Based on a fi ctional patient's tale, Mary, an elderly lady, falls at home and is admitted to hospital. The tale follows Mary's journey though initial consultations and ward moves towards discharge. It is added to by a fi ctional complaint, not dissimilar to those that occur in real life, from Mary's daughter regarding aspects of her care. The day itself allowed the audience, comprising people ranging from patients, nurses, managers, senior and junior doctors (in hospital and general practice), psychologists, social care and third sector representatives, in addition to representatives of the funding and organising bodies themselves, to discuss and comment on the case. It also invited perspectives from invited speakers from health, social care, academia and humanities to discuss compassion in our care systems.

A study to introduce National Early Warning Scores (NEWS) in care homes: Influence on decision‐making and referral processes

“…This has stimulated interest in the use of NEWS in care home settings, with early findings indicating the potential for such scores to act as effective indicators of acute illness in comparison with routine observations (Barker et al, 2020). Care homes are home for many older people, and compassionate care requires that their necessary domestic and social care be not unnecessarily medicalized (Ward, 2018).…”

Compassion: The Art of Medicine

“…24 Compassionate care must be cultivated: the ability to look at the patient, touch him, translate knowledge into feelings in the context of others, and calm pain in addition to the ability to provide care separates us from protocols and operative procedures. 25 Studies in resident physicians confirm the importance of professional training in self-knowledge, compassion, empathy and the desire to do good to patients. [26][27][28]…”

A Unique Way to Analyze the Realities of Health Workers Within A Hermeneutic-Dialectic Perspective

“…Many times, the prescription of hygiene care must be resignified and readapted in dialectics contexts where there are no minimum conditions of dignity for the elderly (A. Dias et al, 2008;Freeman, 2007;Ward, et al, 2018). These workers are capable of identifying these conditions of self-identification within their job position (Ollman & Smith, 2008) and their traditions (Gadamer, 1999) such that we can symbolically see them as "buying a shower head" to promote health.…”

“…For Gadamer (1999), histories and experiences are important in the process of understanding something that we experience and provide consensus. Thus, health professionals daily face the reality of their territory, which requires accurate knowledge of the service assignments and their management, in addition to linking their actions to housing conditions and the population’s dignity (Brasil, 1994; Ward et al, 2018).…”