Humanising Healthcare – for staff and patients
By Dr Trudy Foster
GP Partner and GP Advisor, Clinical & Protecting Health Directorate, Public Health Scotland, FMLM Founding Fellow and Lead in Scotland
At a time when healthcare and all working and leading in the sector are beginning to emerge from the coronavirus ‘war of attrition’, FMLM in Scotland has launched a half-day online leadership forum to focus on putting humanity back into health services.
It was regrettable, but necessary, to cancel the 2020 in-person conference in Edinburgh in view of the pandemic conditions, as we were due to focus on this very subject. But after a year of significant personal and professional sacrifice experienced by all, but especially those at the frontline, it makes more sense to focus on humanising healthcare, now.
There is clearly an imperative to provide an opportunity for medical leaders not only from Scotland, but across the UK and beyond, to come together to share and discuss the needs of the clinical workforce and how that transmutes to patients, to reflect on compassion and kindness in healthcare, for all.
In addition, the opportunity to celebrate FMLM’s 10th anniversary has ignited our drive to make this year’s event especially supportive and relevant to our members and fellows.
In his first annual report as Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith has emphasised the importance of workforce sustainability, shining a spotlight on the wellbeing of colleagues across all health disciplines.
“Health is all about people. Beyond the glittering surface of modern technology, the core space of every healthcare system is occupied by the unique encounter between one set of people who need services and another who have been entrusted to deliver them”[1]
As well as offering insight into the philosophy and science behind compassion and kindness, our objective for the event on 18 May is for every delegate to have actions they can take away and apply, whether for themselves, their team or their organisation. From each of these small changes across healthcare, we can support the sea change we need to achieve sustainability in our workforce. Delegates can also use the time to engage in some much-needed reflection on the past year and its challenges, but more importantly on the many inspiring moments of kindness, compassion and connection.
We look forward to ‘seeing’ you online at Humanising Healthcare on 18 May and capturing the inspiration to take it forward with us as we move into what we hope and expect will be a new chapter in healthcare.
[1] Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA et al. Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The Lancet, 2010; 376(975656); 1923 – 1958. Referenced in: https://www.gov.scot/publications/cmo-annual-report-2020-21/