Leatherhead Matters

 Health Secretary Alan Johnson told the Guardian newspaper that he wants the performance of every nursing team in England to be scored for compassion, by patients. He believes putting a smile on the face of nurses and encouraging empathetic care is as important to recovery as the skill of doctors in the operating theatre.BBC

But what is compassion and can it be assessed, measured or, rated?

Compassion is a profound and positive human emotion prompted by the pain of others. More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another’s suffering. Ranked a great virtue in numerous philosophies, compassion is considered in all the major religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues. (Wikipedia)

Compassion is a hypothetical, psychological construct comprising (Skaff et al, JAAPA, Vol 16, No 1 January 2003):

• General compassion
• Attentive listening
• Forebearance
• Concern
• Patience
• Explanatory communication
• Consideration
• Attention to detail
• Honouring the person
• Familiarity (over time)

Compassion isn’t something you can fake over time. It’s part of an individual’s psychological makeup and something the individual has to a lesser or, greater degree.

So there are three problem’s with Alan Johnson’s plan:

1. If it is as important as the Minister is suggesting, why not include “compassion” in the selection criteria for nurses at the point of recruitment? At least trained psychologists would provide a  reliable rating. Once non-compassionate nurses are in the system there is little the NHS can do about it!
2. What exactly will patients be rating when they tick the score box for “compassion” on a scale of 1-5. Different patients will value compassion in a nurse based on their own psychological makeup. For example, patients who themselves score low on emotion and high on independence  are likely to value compassion less than others and may even resent a “touchy feely” nurse.
3. But, perhaps more importantly, what is the Minister going to use the data for……on this there is silence from the Minister!

Latest News suggests some people think that just wearing the nurse uniform endows them with compassion & trust!