is ideally placed to reduce the damaging effects of stigma.
Touch point
People should be able to trust in the care that is delivered, and care should be timely, respectful, and competently delivered, with the person at the core of all interactions.
Compassion
When we show compassion, we are demonstrating not only empathy, respect and dignity but also an overwhelming desire to relieve or intervene in another’s distress or suffering. Ballett and Campling in 2011 discussed the idea of compassion as emotional kindness. They assert that kindness is a natural response that drives people to pay attention to each other, to understand another’s needs and to do well for others. This idea was supported by Meredith et al. (2018) who studied the emotional needs of patients following heart attack. The study eloquently draws from the narrative of patients and members of the multidisciplinary team to highlight examples of emotional kindness to support emotional healing. Healing in this respect is focused on the psychosocial aspects of care. Emphasis is put on the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in healthcare and social care staff. They state that ‘a fundamental aspect promoting enhanced social support was the emotional intelligence of health professionals’.
Developing EI helps the nursing associate to have a more positive attitude to care, and those with a high level of EI demonstrate more ease in establishing relationships and a higher level of adaptability. Healthcare and social care workers who recognise subtle changes in a person’s behaviour, stress levels or demeanour can intervene with compassion to emotionally support patients in their care.
Blue Flag Relationships
Compassionate care
An elderly patient admitted to an elderly care ward at 2 a.m. for end‐of‐life care sadly passes away within hours of admission. The family do not speak English and are understandably distressed. The nursing associate caring for the patient is unable to access an interpreter to help him understand the family’s wishes. He contacts the senior nurse on call to ask for support and advice. The senior nurse makes several phone calls to other departments to locate a professional who can converse with the family. A nurse on another ward who is finishing her shift who can communicate with the family ascertains their wishes and organises the appropriate documentation to be completed, allowing the family to take their relative to their preferred place of rest. This meant her staying 2 hours after the end of her shift.
The member of staff was later praised by the family through the Trust’s Patient and Liaison Advisory Service for the care and compassion shown to the family.
Yellow Flag Values
We ensure that compassion is central to the care we provide and respond with humanity and kindness to each person’s pain, distress, anxiety or need. We search for the things we can do, however small, to give comfort and relieve suffering. We find time for patients, their families and carers, as well as those we work alongside. We do not wait to be asked, because we care.
Source: The NHS Constitution for England, Updated 14 October 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the‐nhs‐constitution‐for‐england/the‐nhs‐constitution‐for‐england#nhs‐values. Public Domain
Take Note
Competence
Nursing requires constant updating of knowledge and skills in order to keep up to date with the latest practices and to understand an individual’s health and social needs. Patients have a wide range of needs and treatment requirements, and they also come from a variety of walks of life. Lots of training and time spent on personal development ensures that professionals in healthcare and social care settings possess the expertise, clinical and technical skill needed to effectively care, based on research and evidence, to a high standard.
Green Flag Standards of proficiency for nursing associates
Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018a)
Being aware and knowledgeable about a subject or care pathway will enable the nursing associate to make appropriate, evidence‐led decisions. Any clinical decisions made by the nursing associate must be defendable and justifiable. Nursing associates must be self‐aware and know the limitations of their skills and abilities and must only engage in care delivery that they are competent to carry out. Self and peer appraisal can help the nursing associate to identify gaps in learning. The use of portfolios and progress reports can be effective in supporting the development of skills and knowledge and the application of care. The NMC has a role in regulating the profession to ensure ongoing learning and development to support competence; it does this by ensuring:
Students and trainees gain skills and knowledge to be safe and effective
Standards of education and training are mapped with NMC standards
Once registered, practitioners remain professionally up to date.
Green Flag Standards of proficiency for nursing associates
Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018a)
Cultural competence is the ability to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviours. Nursing associates must tailor the delivery of healthcare and social care to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs. Cultural competence is the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures and address health inequalities. Being culturally competent is not just about respecting and appreciating the cultural contexts of patients’ lives, neither is it a one‐size‐fits‐all approach – it is about understanding the way we deliver healthcare and responding to the needs of our diverse population (National Health Service 2019).
Violet Flag Social issues
A female patient who is a member of the Traveller Gypsy community is being