Most people connected with health and social care are passionate about compassion being at the heart of the care and support relationship. However, at times the functions, systems and processes created to run health and social care are a barrier to a consistently compassionate response.

Some of the language we use to describe particular functions gives some clues around the pervasive culture which runs the risk of failing to strike the right balance between empowerment and protection and between systems and processes and the important human aspects of care. For example:-

Infection CONTROLLER

Safe GUARD

Risk ASSESSOR

Manual HANDLER

Health and social care may have become so preoccupied with patient and client safety that we are challenged in offering what people say matters most when they are feeling vulnerable; for example:-

Compassion

Empathy

Warmth

Understanding

Patience

Listening

The Compassion habits at the heart of compassionate environments we are developing offer the opportunity to ‘dismantle the furniture of separation’  so that people can rely on each other to be kind and the important functions outlined above do not create a loss of humanity and compassion, but instead form an integrated part of our compassionate practice.

Would love to hear your thoughts on how liberated you are to show compassion to yourself and others

warmest wishes

Andy