6Cs In Action

The 6 Cs in action at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals

Whilst the Trust has adopted the Leading Change, Adding Value Framework, this remains underpinned in its delivery by staff who display and embody the 6 Cs. These are reflected in our daily care delivery and integrated as part of the Trust values.

Care

two elderly patients holding hands with two nurses in the background

Care is our core business

Care is our core business and that of our organisations and the care we deliver helps the individual person and improves the health of the whole community. Caring defines us and our work. People receiving care expect it to be right for them consistently throughout every stage of their life.

In consultation with our staff, care was seen as integral and essential part of their role. The patient is always the focus and their best interest is always the rationale for whatever care is required. Care is delivered in the most appropriate way at the appropriate time with the patient’s and their loved one’s full knowledge and consent. Good care is open, considerate, and confident and embraces the full needs of the patient and their family.

During the consultation staff felt that the role of the leader in promoting a caring environment was essential and that they have the ability to develop the talent and support those individuals who can make a positive difference to organisational performance and drive improvements in patient care.

A commitment to our patients and populations is a cornerstone of what we do.

A commitment to our patients and populations is a cornerstone of what we do.

Commitment

A commitment to our patients and populations is a cornerstone of what we do. We need to build on our commitment to improve the care and experience of our patients. We need to take action to make this vision and strategy a reality for all and meet the health and social care challenges ahead.

Consultation with our staff recognised that hospital is not where most patients wanted to be, but wherever were cared for they wanted to receive the right care for them. As a team of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals we identified that every contact counted and in order to deliver high quality care we must measure outcomes to drive evidence based improvement. We can achieve this locally by ensuring clinical leaders support their teams. To plan and deliver individualised care to recognised best practice standards and share improvements across all healthcare settings.

Communication

Communication is central to successful caring relationships and to effective team working. Listening is as important as what we say and do. It is essential for ‘no decision about me without me’. Communication is the key to a good workplace with benefits for those in our care and alike.

During our consultation with staff in developing our strategy, all staff recognised the importance of good communication. Staff are committed to continuously improving communication with patients and carers but also acknowledge that our communication with each other can be a challenge – we need to communicate better with each other through the use of available resources such as networking, use of technology and social media.

Compassion

Compassion is how care is given through relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity.

Compassion is how care is given through relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity.

Compassion is how care is given through relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity. It can also be described as intelligent kindness and is central to how people receive their care.

A cross our organisation compassion means lots of things to all of us. Staff deliver services every day with dignity, respect and empathy, where this is not done we need to ensure we challenge our colleagues to ensure the care we all deliver to our patients is compassionate and meets their individual emotional needs.

Competence

Competence means all those in caring roles must have the ability to understand an individual’s health and social needs. It is also about having the expertise, clinical and technical knowledge to deliver effective care and treatments based on research and evidence.

When asked locally, staff in the organisation defined competence as ‘having the right person, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time’ to ensure that the care we give is clearly documented and communicated effectively. In order for competence to flourish, we need confidence in what we are doing and in those around us. This can be achieved locally by ensuring clinical leaders support and develop staff within a changing health care environment. Most importantly we need our patients and public to have confidence in us, in our competence to deliver safe and high quality care.

Couragebutterfly logo with caption - together we can make a difference

Courage enables us to do the right thing for the people we care for, to speak up when we have concerns. It means we have the personal strength and vision to innovate and to embrace new ways of working.

Feedback from our clinical leaders within the organisation viewed courage as having two dimensions. Firstly a focus on speaking up and sometimes having to have difficult conversations. We need to challenge occurrences of poor care and advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. We strive to develop a culture where whistle blowing is supported but we all need to be leaders who listen, are responsive and act appropriately to concerns raised. Our Talksafe programme will help us on our journey to ensure patient safety but also to be courageous.