PM Essentials
Brave's new world
Can empathy save lives? Practice managers in north London are learning to recognise the need for compassion with the help of HIV support charity, Body & Soul. Ethan Ohs reports
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ody & Soul is a charity supporting children and families living with HIV in the UK. In 2013, it launched the social enterprise Brave, which capitalises on the 18 years’ experience it has working with both vulnerable people and members of the public. Brave currently delivers training to health sector professionals around a number of issues, with all profits going back into this pioneering charity. It is currently coming to the end of a project working with front-of-house, administrators, practice managers and pharmacy staff within the Islington CCG area to deliver a comprehensive empathy and compassion training aimed at improving patient experience by improving skills in these areas.
Naturally occurring More than 100 staff have engaged in the project, with really positive outcomes. The training looks at empathy and aims to improve the provision of compassionate care. The approach recognises that people have naturally occurring empathy and builds on what is already there. The goal is not just to tick another box but, instead, allow participants to reflect on interactions with patients in an effort to improve them. This is a model we will be replicating nationwide over the coming months and we will be using this particular piece of work as a case study that highlights the impact of this kind of training. As you know, the NHS is undergoing unprecedented changes. This training recognises the key role that non-clinical staff play in the patient experience.
with a combination of 100 reception, admin, practice managers and pharmacy staff.
Where did the project originate and how was it developed? We had been speaking with Islington CCG regularly since their creation about ways we could work with the CCG. In all our conversations the CCG recognised the important role that organisations like Body & Soul play in improving patient health. Our social enterprise, Brave, provided a great opportunity – they were able to commission training to help staff in their area and, through that commissioning process, have a direct social impact on the people Body & Soul supports.
How has this changed behaviour? The effect on participants has been impressive. More than 90% of participants have noted an increased understanding of empathy and compassion. The training has given people new ideas and ways of working while also allowing people to share little things they do on a daily basis to build stronger relationships with patients. It covers ideas as simple as smiling on the phone and learning patient names to much deeper personal reflection on how we work with difference and respond to negative emotions.
How many staff involved?
Why was there a need for such a project in Islington?
Islington CCG commissioned the work and, with this non-compulsory training, we are working to engage staff from more than 80 GP practices and pharmacies across the patch. We have worked
Every professional benefits from continued development. The IPSOS MORI statistics for GP surgeries in Islington are inline with or exceed the London average, so the need for the training
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‘The goal is not just to tick another box, but instead to allow participants to reflect on interactions with patients in an effort to improve them’
Body & Soul has been supporting children and families living with – and closely affected – by HIV for 18 years. Ethan Ohs runs Body & Soul’s social enterprise Brave. For more information about Brave and the training it can provide, call Ethan at Body & Soul on 0207 923 6880 or visit http:// bodyandsoulcharity.org
June 2014 ︲ www.practice-management.org.uk
Management
Tops tips for empathy
was about forward thinking, striving for continued excellence and investing in the workforce rather than reacting to emerging issues or challenges. Islington is a progressive CCG recognising that, to keep a strong, cohesive and contented workforce that can cope with the increasing stress in today’s world, there needs to be investment in staff. They invested to ensure NHS staff in Islington continue to feel supported and able to deliver very good all-round care.
How is the training structured? The training is a half day, experiential training. We did not want the skills and techniques for applying compassion and empathy in the workplace to be another tick box. In addition, we wanted to recognise that people have an innate ability to empathise with others. We designed the training to help people use existing skills while providing a forum to explore what can prevent us as humans from empathising with everyone – identifying the barriers to empathy so we can overcome them. Being empathetic towards other humans can be difficult in many environments. The training works hard to build participants’ awareness so they can actively apply their compassion and empathy on a daily basis, while finding ways to take care of their own emotional wellbeing at the same time.
How will this roll out nationally? We are able to offer this training nationally and have been contacting Clinical Commissioning Groups, hospitals and Local Education and Training Boards across the country offering this training.
Smile on the phone Learn patient names Take time to reflect on your reactions to situations Think about how you react to negative emotions
Our award-winning Life in My Shoes campaign (www. lifeinmyshoes.org) took a unique approach to challenging stigma and bullying by helping people develop their empathic ability. Brave took this work on empathy and created a programme of compassionate care training. Ethan says: ‘We were well positioned to work on this project bringing the skills and abilities of a national charity and the personal stories and knowledge that comes from working with residents of the borough.’
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