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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Intelligent kindness
— reforming the culture of healthcare | | Author(s) | John Ballatt, Penelope Campling |
| Corporate Author | Royal College of Psychiatrists - RCP |
| Publisher | RCPsych Publications, London, 2011 |
| Pages | 200 pp |
| Source | Royal College of Psychiatrists, 21 Prescot Street, London E1 8BB. www.rcpsych.ac.uk |
| Keywords | Health services ; National Health Service ; Medical care ; Attitude ; Medical workers ; Policy. |
| Annotation | Aspects of kindness appear in various forms across UK healthcare policy. While this is to be celebrated, the authors see kindness as "the junior partner alongside ideologies and goals"; but whether kindness is helped and hindered by these other aspects of policy and reform is seldom considered. The authors argue that the NHS is a system that invites society to value and attend to its deepest common interests: it is a vital expression of community and one that can improve if society, patients and staff can reconnect to these deeper values. To do so, will improve quality and patient experience, as well as morale, effectiveness, efficiency and value for money. Relentless regulatory and structural NHS 'reforms' have failed to avert scandals, and left many health service staff feeling alienated. Whatever their merits, industrial and market approaches to reform urgently need to be balanced by an applied understanding of what motivates and assures compassionate practice. The authors examine this topic from perspectives which include psychoanalytic thinking, group relations, neuropsychology, social psychology and ethology. They call on policymakers, managers, educators and clinical staff to apply and nurture intelligent kindness in the organisation and delivery of care, and offer advice as to what this approach means in practice. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-180109001 B |
| Classmark | L: L4: LK: DP: QT: QAD |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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