The Concept of Compassionate Care in Healthcare

The term ‘compassionate care’ wasn’t familiar to me until last year, when I became pregnant. My husband and I were living far from our families, and unfortunately, I couldn’t find a personal caregiver at that time. As my due date approached, my anxiety levels began to rise. Thankfully, it didn’t affect me or my baby.

Much of the credit goes to the healthcare professionals (HCPs) at the hospital where I was admitted. They went above and beyond their duties to make the journey smooth for both me and my newborn. Their kindness, empathy, and unwavering support made all the difference.

Working in the healthcare sector now, I realise those behaviours were the perfect example of ‘compassionate Care’. While this is my personal story, it’s clear that compassionate care in the healthcare sector significantly impacts a patient’s life. In this write-up, I’ll share everything I’ve learnt about this essential topic.

What is Compassionate Care in Health and Social Care?

Compassionate is about being empathic, respectful, sensible, and supportive through communication. HCPs ensure the safety, dignity, independence, and privacy of the patients while communicating with them. Through compassionate care, the HCP identifies, understands, and creates an empathetic connection with patients’ concerns. This concept derives from a major component of 6C health and social care values: compassion.

In the health and social care industry, compassionate care is about behaving with empathy while giving treatment. It’s beyond nursing and more humanitarian. It is giving complete care for physical and spiritual well-being.

According to Lown (2016), the definition of compassionate care in the healthcare industry is “the recognition, understanding, and emotional resonance with another’s concerns, distress, pain, or suffering, coupled with relational action to ameliorate these states.”

Why is Compassionate Care Important?

Who doesn’t want to feel heard and respected? Feeling ignored and helpless at the most vulnerable stage hits badly. The compassionate care approach ensures patients are heard, respected, and supported throughout the treatment. This healthcare practice encourages people to take treatment and trust the process.

Those patients who are handled with care and compassion are more likely to help with the treatment procedures. They feel free to share their problems and get the right treatment. Compassionate care also improves the mental state of the patient and gives motivation for long-term treatment.

How does Compassionate Care Work?

Sometimes compassionate care is the best cure for the patients. It soothes the anxiety and mental pressure. Patients feel secure and get the mental strength to fight the illness.

Many studies have shown that compassionate care improves treatment outcomes. It reduces fear, increases determination and motivation for long-term processes like cancer, and minimises possible errors.

Compassionate care creates opportunities to build patient-professional bonding and ease treatment procedures. Personalised and patient-centred care practices also increase patient satisfaction rates.

What are The Attributes of Compassionate Care Professionals?

How do we know that someone is giving compassionate care? Some attributes can indicate a compassionate care professional. They actively listen, communicate effectively, give personalised care, show empathy, and support emotionally. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation identifies the following seven attributes as the most common ones:

Empathy: Compassionate care starts here. Having empathy for the patient’s situation. Feeling it as own problem. Understanding how painful the treatment process can be for the patient.

Respect: Showing respect for the values and cultures of the patient despite having different ones.

Integrity: Clear coherence of expressed values and behaviours. They do what they say and promise.

Compassion: Compassion is the next step to empathy. Care professionals become aware of the problem, feel the pain, and express a strong desire to solve it.

Altruism: Compassionate care professionals have the mindset to prioritise other’s needs over their own. They are the ones who leave lunch to attend to emergency patients.

Excellence: They gain clinical expertise with a vision to serve the best.

Service: Serving with their best resource. Investing time and knowledge whenever needed.

What are The Components of Compassionate Care?

How do the professionals express compassionate care? They broadly use four components to express their compassionate care for the person in need. These are as follows:

01. Using verbal and non-verbal language to express compassion. For example: conveying greetings at meetings, counselling to assure them about the treatment, smiling to create a friendly environment, etc.

02. Doing empathy activities like: helping to follow instructions, stepping forward to help, and asking to share the pains.

03. Organising patient-centred care like: creating a secure, comfortable and supportive atmosphere for treatment.

04. Following the cultural context while dealing with the patients. Personalised attention to individuals’ religious and cultural beliefs.

What is Compassionate Care Flow?

Compassionate care is a spontaneous process. Often caregiving professionals enter this profession because they already have compassion for the patients. They want to serve others through their knowledge and experience. However, some factors sometimes fuel, drain, or defend this spontaneous flow.

Here fuelling factors are those factors that energise compassion care. An example of fuelling compassion care flow is getting compliments or guidance from colleagues.

Then drainers are the factors that hamper the flow of compassionate care. For example, misbehaving patients and unfavourable organisational systems discourage compassionate care.

Lastly, the defender factors are the factors that reinforce the compassion care flow by managing the drainer factors. For example, dealing with an angry patient with faith and a smile to convert into a satisfied one.

Remember the golden rule? Treat others how you want to be treated. Let’s not be compassion drainers while receiving treatment from these noble caregivers. They dedicate their lives to this profession and serve beyond their duties. As demand for caregivers increases in the UK, people are depending on them more than ever. Many rely on them in the last days of their lives. They are a great part of our lives. Being good to them will be a good investment for life.