The Founders Network is holding another of its series of listening meetings on the 28th Feb 2015 at BMA House.
Full details are available here and BMA – NHS Event 28 2 14
The Founders Network is a group of representatives from diverse professional and occupational organisations formed to create change within the NHS in order for staff to be able to better care for patients. It was founded in July 2014 on the initiative of Dr Clare Gerada, Lambeth GP and Medical Director of the NHS Practitioner Health Programme, and Dr Rex Haigh, Medical Psychotherapist and IGA (Institute of Group Analysis) Board Member.
So far, the Network has held four listening events around the country and the preliminary outcomes are described in this recent Guardian article (3rd Feb 2015) by Dr Haigh under the title: “Where pain in the NHS goes untreated – among its staff. Pleas for help to cope with work stress and fear voiced by NHS staff to a confidential service are growing, yet the organisation can’t or won’t listen.”
Dr Haigh concludes:
“The NHS is working hard to put patients first in all that it does, and rightly so – but it needs to be careful not to put staff last. For staff to deliver the key components of compassion (attentiveness, empathy and intelligent action) they must feel attended to. This is not just about implementing the 80 or so recommendations made in various reports over the past few years (though this would help), rather it is about embedding a deeper cultural change, led by politicians and involving all agencies in and around health care, such as the Care Quality Commission, NHS England and the General Medical Council. This makes sense for all concerned, as improved wellbeing of staff leads to better patient outcomes.”